On the Subject of a Coordinate Grid
Column first or row first?
All information pertaining to the module can be found in the original manual.
Table 1: grid size formats
| Format | How to interpret |
|---|---|
| x | The number x is a product of two primes. The grid’s width is the larger prime, the height the smaller. |
| (x) | Same as x, but width and height are swapped. |
| x×y | x is the width, y the height of the grid. |
| x by y | x is the height, y the width of the grid. |
| x*y | x is the total size of the grid, y the height. |
| x : y | x is the total size of the grid, y the width. |
Table 2: grid location formats
| [x,y] | Column, then row; top-left is [0,0]. |
|---|---|
| letter number | Column, then row; top-left is A1. |
| <x, y> | Row, then column; top-left is <0, 0>. |
| x, y | Row, then column; top-left is 1, 1. |
| (x,y) | Column, then row; bottom-left is (0,0). |
| letter-number | Column, then row; bottom-left is A-1. |
| “x, y” | Row, then column; bottom-left is “0, 0”. |
| x/y | Row, then column; bottom-left is 1/1. |
| [x] | Cell number in scanline order[1]; top-left is [0]. |
| xth | Cell number in scanline order[1]; top-left is 1st. |
| #x | Cell number in Cartesian order[2]; bottom-left is #1. |
| 四十七 | Cell number in Chinese reading order[3]; top-right is 一. See Table 3 for Chinese numerals reference. The example shown here represents the number 47. |
Table 3: Chinese numerals
| 一 | 1 | 六 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 二 | 2 | 七 | 7 |
| 三 | 3 | 八 | 8 |
| 四 | 4 | 九 | 9 |
| 五 | 5 | 十 | 10 |
[1] Scanline order, also known as reading order, starts at the top-left, moves right across the row, and then continues likewise with each row from top to bottom.
[2] Cartesian order, also known as geometric order, starts at the bottom-left, moves right across the row, and then continues likewise with each row from bottom to top.
[3] Traditional Chinese reading order starts at the top-right, moves down the column, and then continues likewise with each column from right to left.