AN INTEGRATED TOPOLOGIC DATABASE DESIGN FOR GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION-SYSTEMS

Several database management system (DBMS) design concepts used by Kork's Georgraphic Information Management System (KGIS) for the creation, maintenance, and rapid retrieval of geographically referenced data sets are discussed. The DBMS design fosters fast interactive response during input, editing, analysis, and output regardless of the geographic extent. Important geographic DBMS design concepts include: (1) Create the DBMS to support three levels of organization: cartographic features (points, lines, and polygons), topologic elements (nodes, edges, and faces), and geographic (spatial) clustering (sorted by size and location). (2) Support memory-resident DBMS operations and internal buffering (according to feature type and geographic location) between the disk-resident database and the computer's memory such that the geographic data sets reviewed or modified occupy the smallest possible memory space, can be retrieved in the fewest number of disk accesses, and contain only the necessary data to support the task at hand.