What is the best way to store coordinates

[cdodds]

I would like to write some coordinate geometry programs but don't know where to start. I would like to start with a simple program to store and recall points. I would like to be able to store point number, northing, easting, elevation, and a apha-numeric code. Would it be better to store these as vectors or coordinates? Is it better to use a list or a matrix or is there something I'm overlooking.

Thanks