Coordinate systems for windows generally have the origin (0,0) positioned at the upper left corner of the window with X positive to the right and Y positive downwards. This is the "window coordinates" system. Generalized coordinates are implemented using scaling, rotation and translation operations such that any Cartesian coordinates can be used within a window. The Graphics Ports system uses a transform object to achieve this.
CAPI User Guide (Macintosh version) - 30 Aug 2011