Development of a Hierarchical Dual-Function Terrain Data Set

A hierarchical dual-function terrain data set must be designed to ensure rapid access to complex data structures, allow for frequent data modification and be compatible with existing Geographical Information System (GIS) applications. Although widely used, conventional database management systems have shortcomings in their ability to handle geographic information efficiently. An object-oriented database (OODB) design is proposed for the development of a hierarchical dual-function terrain data set. To prove the feasibility of this approach, tasks are outlined that together will develop and test a compilation strategy that will convert an existing data set into an object-based data set. In addition, the concept of providing the OODB the ability to convert itself into a format compatible with existing GIS applications is explored. The enhanced speed and flexibility of an OODB promises to find widespread use in the growing comercial and government GIS market. Data development and maintenance costs will decrease due to the increased portability and natural extensibility of the OODB in accommodating new data types such as multimedia.