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Requirement
Prepare an essay on "Assess the changing role of database technology within GIS over the last twenty-five years"
Solution
Geographic Information System
The Geographical Information is commonly used in German countries. Geospatial is considered to manage the gap among the geographical information. Creating a digital structure of some plains or a 3-D model of various structures, showcase the use of geographical information system. The GIS helps in the identification of different information such as situation of traffic, flow of river, flood condition, and others. The existence of this information system is to help get spatial information that includes 4-D continuum and reflects significant geographic information (C.A. Zehnder, 1989). Whatever takes place on the surface comes into the realm of geographic information, such as, traffic movement, agricultural development, economical changes, and others. Therefore, distinguishing or keeping any aspect separate from the geographic information system is practically difficult. In nutshell, we can say that, the geographic information system helps in identification of location, coverage of physical information, and the geographical information that are sometime not clear and concise enough.
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Geographic information system has been defined by number of scholars in various ways. Some of them are mentioned below:
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According to (N. Bartelme, 1989; 2005), geographical information system helps in the capture, storage, analysis, and then visual understanding of the data. The data relates to part of this Planet’s surface. It also focuses on the application of the various technics to extract and maintain the spatial data.
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According to (K. J. Dueker, 1979), the geographic information system consists of spatial information that forms a database that can be observed. It can help in understanding the various events and activities.
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According to (P. A. Burrough, 1979), geographic information system is the process that collects the spatial data, analyses the same, and also stores those for future activities. It also helps in easy retrieval of the past information and visualising them for future utilisation.
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According to (W. Gopfert, 1991), geographic information system combines all the data changes that takes place within the atmosphere and the related areas such as the surface of the Earth, and other different layers of atmosphere. This information system helps in getting the updated data and then manipulates the same data to result into useful information.
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According to (D.J.Cowen, 1988), the geographic information system helps in the integration of various spatial data and then focusing on solving the problems that are related to the Earth’s environment.
Thus based on the above definition, it can be understood that the geographical information system helps in collecting the data, storing the same, and the retrieving those in the future for the purpose of analysis and further study. The geographic information system consists of various algorithmic tools that make the task easier when analysing and understanding the data. It is considered as unique information technology advancement.
Changing Roles of GIS
The information system is the databank that represents the inner side of the whole system and is managed by the DBMS. It also consists of external layer of tools which are used by the analysts to manipulate and analyse the data. This chapter will focus on understanding the impact the data base has on the geographic information system. In the initial time of advent of geographic information system, it follows the relational concept with the database. Now the same relation has been developed to ORDBMS (A. Rosenfeld, 1976). Object Relational Database Management System helps as the enabler in the geospatial data management and also in the prediction of such things. ORDBMS helps in the management of huge data sets and helping in quick management of the same that includes organization of the data sets, search, and the retrieval.
The data abstraction through the use of this system depends on how the abstractor has intended to use the information. Therefore, each type of information system depends on how the user intends to use it. Sometime the same data can be used for single purpose, and on the other it can be used for multiple purposes. Therefore, it is suggested to understand the intention of the abstractor before indulging into abstractions (R.C.Gonzalez, 2007). It is considered more practical and is more efficient and cost effective. The function of the geographical information system depends on the thinking that has been given behind it for the use. Generally, geographic information system is utilised for storage and retrieval of the data. Moreover, it helps in formation of the various queries, and visualising the converted data based on various themes and patterns. For instance, when the same spatial pattern is observed in two dimensional and then in three dimensional gives different visual appeal. But, the actual reason behind the use of any of the dimension depends on the use of the information that will be generated from the image.
Traditionally, the geographical information system used to be under the control of the user and depended on the interest of such users. With the advent in internet and information technology, there have been various modifications that could be observed. The use of online system and tools and resulted into great impact on the way the whole geographical information system used to operate (R.Bill, 1999). Along with the above, the advancement in the mobile technology has resulted into unaccounted benefits to this system. The mobile technology has helped in minimising the size of various hardware components, thus reducing the cost and space. The geographic information system has seen paradigm shift as per the whole structure of this information system is concerned. Now the data can is free to be accessed from anywhere around the world without any specific restrictions such as personal intentions or physical portability. Moreover, now they can be accessed on multiple device, thus the accessibility has increased a lot which has eventually resulted into the increased use and research on the data that is being generated every day. The interesting thing is that nowadays, even small internet browser can be used to perform the geographical information system tasks.
The advent of technology has led to the increase in the accessibility of the geographic information system and the data through various mediums. This can be termed as universal availability of the data (P.A.Brrough, 1998). Even 3-D images and maps are easily accessible on small cell-phones, thus giving way to larger consumer segment.
In earlier times, the geographic information system used to be the combination of specific hardware and software. However, things have changed in the contemporary situation and now the difference between a well-established system for geographic information and the use of internet browser has gone vague. Now the contents can be displayed on the internet browser in similar manner as though the specialised systems. The web based services has become advanced enough to construct any data sets in visually appealing and understanding manner by just in few clicks and minor setups. This kind of accessibility from one centre to whole world helps in the reduction in the redundancy of the data and also helps keep the data physically stored at one place, saving time and cost.
However, consideration of cell-phones as geographic information system tools is yet to be justified by the scholars. But the advent in high-end smartphone technology suggests that it considering this service will not be loss (R.Laurini, 1992). This new method for data accessibility has given way to the new kinds of users. It is true that this advancement has not replaced the traditional geographic information system users who are into various public organizations and run communities in various domains. This new web-based and mobile technology has become a new pillar in the geographic information system. Moreover, its user-friendliness helps in the easy and successful handling of the data from anywhere, be it the office or home. It has allowed users to perform their duty even from the comfort of their home and from any place they want, as long as they are integrated with the web. This whole integration provides support to the whole channel and work as one.
There is also another improvement in the field of geographic information system. It is not that attractive than the advent of web-based services, but yet worth discussing. It is called object oriented modelling. This method has helped in levelling the bridge between the data and different functionality of the system. It helps in defining the function for each class of the objects. This has reduced the pressure from the database management systems. The ORDBMS helps in relieving the external shell of the data types. They are based on the concept of relation and include various tables and columns. Moreover, it considers geometric column for the further effective mentions (P. Longley et al, 2005). Object oriented geographic information system has not achieved much attraction for the time being but it is assumed that it has the ability to become the next big thing in the field of geographic information system. For instance, the object oriented structure can be understood by a building that is developed using different elements such as area, walls, etc., and then it can be reduced back to the original individual components. This method is different from relational database management.
In nutshell, we can say that, the recent modifications in the geographical information system in the past twenty (20) years can be attributed to the advancement in technology related to web-based services and cell-phone technology. Moreover, ORDBMS has also grabbed the space.
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Place Your OrderGeographic Information System Functionality
The geographic information system functionality can be arranged into multiple ways. To arrive at structured setup, it is not required that we follow any specific method, and the reason is that the system does not follow any specific sequence, rather it works in network. The categorization of the system has been done following different ways:
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i) Data Capture Systems: This system is considered as the initial phase of the geographical data. For instance, if a physical map is required to be converted into digital form, then this system will come into play. It not only brings an electronic image on the system, it also focuses on capture of the data that requires manual entry of the sizes and patterns of roads and passes. It is done through the semi-automated process that requires scanning of the image onto the system and then entering required data manually and then editing the map to make it interactive. It requires visual tools that help in making it more interactive. The next three systems support this system in achieving the result effectively. However, this step is considered as vital in the setup.
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ii) Administration system: The focus of the administration system is to store the required data for longer period. Moreover, it tries to keep the data fresh and in proper condition. For instance, if the land data has been uploaded into the system then it has to be kept in the system for longer. However, if the change that takes place on the land is not updated periodically then the data will become useless for anybody and not one will prefer to extract that data for any purpose. Therefore, it is necessary that minor processes should be followed periodically to capture and refresh the concerned data. Along with that, the next two steps that are analysis and presentation, helps the administration in the proper maintenance of the data for the longer period.
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iii) Analysis system: The focus of the analysis system is on some specific type of the data. For instance, if a firm is providing energy to houses in a certain area, then the data need to be analysed to understand the total consumed power in that area. This also helps in understanding the peak time of energy consumption, and other such elements that are necessary in maintenance of energy flow by Power Company.
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iv) Presentation system: The focus of the presentation system is to bring visual appeal to any map or data. It helps in increasing the interactivity with the data online. In most cases, it has been found that the average internet users do not interact with the data expect using certain functionality such as the zoom function, or selecting any specific data sets. Therefore, the presentation is done keeping in purview such user habits.
Functions to Capture the Data in GIS
The capturing of the data for the geographical information system is considered as tedious task. It is required that the data capturing passes through various levels such global positioning system, laser scanning, and various other technologies. The second most important thing is the effort that has been placed behind the data collection. The increased level of attention used to capture and update the data results into similar quality output. It is obvious that the more perfect be the input, so be the output of any activity. The primary input of the data has to be of utmost clarity because no matter how much effort has been placed on the sloppy input, the result cannot be satisfactory. The other functions that have been discussed in this section can be redone if something wrong happens, but this step cannot be redone. The only way to perfect data is to place great amount of time and work behind the collection of the primary input. It is considered as the most expensive activity in comparison to other activities. However, as in most cases the data are required for once in many years, therefore, collection with precision is not undermined. The primary data that are captured by the satellite imageries can be relied for the whole year due to the changes in the weather and for various other reasons. Moreover, if the data captured in the initial period is being used by various applications, then updating it every now and then cannot be afforded for the sake of perfection.
Another point that should be considered is that the data capturing can be taken as the process to map the actual world in the digital form. It is assumed that capturing the whole world within a single set is rather impossible and thus each collection of data sets is focused on the fulfilment of some specific function. For instance, there are maps that focus only on the routes, traffic, and houses. On the other hand, there are maps that focus on mineral zones, mountains. Then there are another map that reflects population, ethnicity, and others.
Updating Database in GIS
It is obvious that creating data is not the ultimate purposes, and it also needs to be kept up-to-date from time to time with various corrections. This is particularly applicable for the data sets that are created for the long term. The data collection process is concerned with precision in geometry other variables to make a concrete data sets that need not repeat corrections that waste time and incur costs. The purpose behind the first time accuracy is the fact that the collection of data is costly affair. Moreover, as the data size increases gradually, so does the time required in the correction and updating the data which calls for more time and money. Now, if the data has been found as full of error then it will require further rectification every time a new error is spotted which a tedious job. It is obvious that amendment of the data sets are considered as difficult in comparison to handling primary data, particularly there are numerous blocs of data and the correction is huge.
Conclusion
In the end, it can be said that the geographical information system has changed a lot in the past twenty years due to the various advancement in the technology and various data collection methods. For instance, the advent in the internet usage and advance browsers has made the data sharing more easier and hassle free than before. Moreover, the advent in cell-phones has given way to development of micro level hardware that are portable and cost effective and can be carried anywhere. This has helped in improved access to the data from anywhere around the world. The other important thing in GIS is the collection of the primary data that is the base of all the further processes.
References
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N. Bartelme: GIS-Technologie: Geoinformationssysteme, Landinformationssysteme und ihre Grundlagen (Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg 1989), in German
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N. Bartelme: Geoinformatik: Modelle, Strukturen, Funktionen (Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg 2005), in German
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K.J. Dueker: Land resource information systems: A review of fifteen years of experience, Geo Process. 1, 105–128 (1979)
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P.A. Burrough: Principles of Geographical Information Systems for Land Resources Assessment (Clarendon, Wotton-under-Edge 1979) W. Göpfert: Raumbezogene Informationssysteme (Wichmann, Heidelberg 1991), in German
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D.J. Cowen: GIS versus CAD versus DBMS: What are the differences?, Photogramm. Eng. Remote Sens. 54, 1551–1555 (1988)
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D.J. Maguire, M. Goodchild, D. Rhind (Eds.): Geographic Information Systems (Longman Scientific, Harlow 1997)
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C.A. Zehnder: Informationssysteme und Datenbanken (Teubner, Wiesbaden 1989), in German
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Pavlidis: Graphics and Image Processing (Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg 1982) A. Rosenfeld, A.C. Kak: Digital Picture Processing (Academic, New York 1976)
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R.C. Gonzalez, R.E. Woods: Digital Image Processing (Prentice Hall, New York 2007)
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R. Bill: Grundlagen der Geoinformationssysteme, Band 1: Hardware, Software und Daten, Band 2: Analysen, Anwendungen und neue Entwicklungen (Wichmann, Heidelberg 1999), in German
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P.A. Burrough, R.A. McDonnell: Principles of Geographical Information Systems (Oxford Univ. Press, New York 1998)
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R. Laurini, D. Thompson: Fundamentals of Spatial Information Systems (Academic, New York 1992)
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P. Longley, M. Goodchild, D.J. Maguire, D. Rhind: Geographic Information Systems and Science (Wiley, New York 2005
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