GIS: Challenges Abound!
Developing applications for Geographical Information Systems is the rage these days. But there are problems that we take a closer look at, along with some possible solutions.
Techies love venturing into application development areas that are seen to be fun, as well as sought after by consumers. This perhaps explains the scramble among the tech community to enter the space of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) applications for GPS-enabled mobile phones. But in truth, the utility of GIS extends far beyond digital mapping to help solve cartography problems. Any environmentalist will tell you that GIS is an essential tool, which enables the modelling, analysis and management of fast degrading and scarce spatially-related natural resources. And while the masses using GIS-based location applications want relatively simple tools, the needs of more serious users calls for a full-scale GIS software environment.
But developing a GIS application is not a lark! Here’s a rundown of the difficulties that an application developer is likely to face, as well as the solutions suggested by experts.
Capturing data
Collection of data often influences the cost of implementing a new GIS application, simply because of the sheer volumes of data that must be accumulated and edited. The fact is that a GIS application does not only make use of map geometry generated by vectorisation technology, but also requires the addition of feature information, such as a lake or river, so as to generate meaningful topology and the association of user data. This difficulty has led to the creation of raster databases based on data generated by remote sensors (satellites) MCTS Training, rasterised paper maps generated by scanning, and grid data derived from digital terrain models. {quotes}Unlike the difficulty of data capture faced by developers creating vector-based databases, remote image processing systems face computational problems in dealing with the sheer bulk of data available.{/quotes}
It is increasingly believed that an ideal GIS system is a hybrid integrated system based on a raster vector database that facilitates the manipulation, viewing and analysis of both forms of data in a seamless environment. According to Rajesh C. Mathur, president, ESRI India, the voluminous data entailed in such a hybrid system is best handled by an RDBMS (relational database management system) supporting spatial geometry in a seamless manner such as ESRI’s vector and raster ArcSDE. A developer using this application would simply have to identify the mechanisms of the spatial relationships and structures that are common in the voluminous data and analytical techniques that are unique to both spatial (vector and raster database) data. This process is made easier by the wide range of geodata services ArcSDE provides for data extraction, replication, warehousing, mining and synchronisation. ArcSDE also provides a framework and the tools to manage large spatial datasets in an RDBMS, such as IBM DB2, IBM Informix Microsoft MCITP Certification, Oracle, Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL (structured query language) Server, and PostgreSQL. ArcSDE implements data warehousing and data mining sub-routines through its unique design.
