Cartesian geometry In mathematics, the Cartesian coordinate system is used to determine each point uniquely in a plane through two numbers, usually called the x-coordinate or abscissa and the y-coordinate or ordinate of the point. The idea of this system was developed in 1637 in two writings by Descartes and independently by Pierre de Fermat, although Fermat did not publish the discovery
Home / Questions / What algebraic system taught in present-day schools is one of the legacies of the philosopher RenE Descartes to which he lent his name?