[b]“Lat/Lon”, pro:[/b][list][li]Balanced, as each abbreviation is 3 characters[/li][li]Easier to type fast[/li][/list][b]“Lat/Lon”, con:[/b][list][li]ø[/li][/list][b]“Lat/Long”, pro:[/b

[vtk]

"Lat/Lon" , pro:

• Balanced, as each abbreviation is 3 characters
• Easier to type fast

"Lat/Lon" , con:

• ø

"Lat/Long" , pro:

• Balanced, as each abbreviation omits "-itude"

"Lat/Long" , con:

• "Long"  isn't pronounced like the start of "longitude"

I'll add to these lists if people bring up points I hadn't considered.  Personally, I favor "lat/lon" .

[J N Winkler]

Con to all of the above:  they are abbreviations that are not acronyms and do not have periods, so they are arguably examples of informal English.  Clean style would use (e.g.) the phrase "map reference" and simply give the values with latitude first, as is the all but universal norm.

[Pete from Boston]

Every time this has come up in spoken conversation for me it's been "lat/long."

Con to all of the above:  they are abbreviations that are not acronyms and do not have periods, so they are arguably examples of informal English.  Clean style would use (e.g.) the phrase "map reference" and simply give the values with latitude first, as is the all but universal norm.

But latitude and longitude are anything but the universal norm, so "map reference" is not necessarily sufficient.

[english si]

Clean style would use (e.g.) the phrase "map reference" and simply give the values with latitude first, as is the all but universal norm.

As Pete from Boston says, it's not the universal norm. In fact, this is the first time that I've seen "map reference" to mean latitude and longitude, rather than either the specific reference system off a specific map, or a misnomer for "OS grid reference".

[Duke87]

I just refer to them as "coordinates". This is the term used in math and in a lot of sci-fi.

I mean it's understood that 41.212667, -73.929413 means 41.212667°N, 73.929413°W. Same basic idea.

[Pete from Boston]

I just refer to them as "coordinates". This is the term used in math and in a lot of sci-fi.

I mean it's understood that 41.212667, -73.929413 means 41.212667°N, 73.929413°W. Same basic idea.

Lat/long is one of many systems of coordinates, though.  Most map data I see these days is in UTM/meters.

[vtk]

When presented as numbers without labels, it's not obvious to me that latitude should come first, because normally x coordinate comes before y.  That's why there's like 8 different reasonable ways to order the four values that specify a geographic bounding box.

[kphoger]

I use latitude and longitude every day, copying and pasting them into Google Maps to help find customers' houses for field technicians. When talking about them at work, I pronounce "Lat/Long" as "latitude and longitude" or "coordinates". So the fact that "Long" is not pronounced as in "Longitude" doesn't bother me in the slightest.

[corco]

I just refer to them as "coordinates". This is the term used in math and in a lot of sci-fi.

I mean it's understood that 41.212667, -73.929413 means 41.212667°N, 73.929413°W. Same basic idea.

Lat/long is one of many systems of coordinates, though.  Most map data I see these days is in UTM/meters.

Though common sense comes into play- it's highly unlikely you'd see 41.242142 as a UTM or state plane coordinate.

[Pete from Boston]

I didn't get from the OP that this was about a situation where it is specifically written in conjunction with coordinates.

I hear "lat/long" spoken as the name of a coordinate system.  I.e., "Would the data view differently if it were in lat/long?"  I don't see it written. 

[ET21]

I've always got accustomed to Lat/Lon due to weather bulletins and warnings, easier to type faster