Abstraction and Decoposition in Open GIS

TitleAbstraction and Decoposition in Open GIS
Publication TypeTechnical Report
Year of Publication1997
AuthorsVoisard, A., & Schweppe H.
Other Numbers1073
Abstract

With the emergence of distributed computing and the increasing trend towards the reuse of geographic data, a new generation of geographic information systems (GIS) is currently being specified. The key characteristics of these open GIS are modularity and extensibility, and they are composed of existing software systems such as database management systems, traditional GIS, statistics packages and simulation models. They can be defined in terms of generic frameworks which facilitate both information exchange between participating systems and the addition of new functionalities. Even though the idea of defining open GISs is not new, it is crucial that the steps necessary to In this report, we propose a layer decomposition for the design of an open GIS. Each layer corresponds to a different level of abstraction, starting with the application or user level down to the invocation of systems services. In addition, each such level can be specified by the same set of concepts: data, operation and session (DOS model). The metadata needed for the interaction between levels is indispensable to achieve openness. We believe that the clear definition of such a framework will greatly facilitate open GIS design.

URLhttp://www.icsi.berkeley.edu/ftp/global/pub/techreports/1997/tr-97-006.pdf
Bibliographic Notes

ICSI Technical Report TR-97-006

Abbreviated Authors

A. Voisard and H. Schweppe

ICSI Publication Type

Technical Report