SPATIAL CONCEPTS, GEOMETRIC DATA MODELS, AND GEOMETRIC DATA-STRUCTURES

There seems to be some uncertainty in the GIS literature regarding the use of the words data model and data structure. There is a clear understanding of these notions in the database literature and it is possible to define analogous terms for GIS: geometric data model and geometric data structure. Geometric data model is used to describe a formalized abstract set of spatial object classes and the operations performed on them. Geometric data structure then is the specific implementation of a geometric data model, which fixes the storage structure, utilization, and performance. Humans organize their spatial perceptions using concepts that can be defined as spatial concepts to denote an informal or not directly implementable conceptual structure used to understand space. Examples are given to clarify the theoretical discussion.