Geographic data exchange format in Taiwan

The requirement for a well defined and widely accepted digital data-exchange method has been emphasized and discussed by several geographic information system (GIS) scholars. The different graphic formats for representing spatial data hinder data exchange between different GIS systems. To address this problem and enhance data sharing, a standard exchange format (SEF) for data exchange has been adopted in Taiwan. The design of the SEF is depicted in this work. A case study applied between AutoCAD and Microstation to examine the SEF is also presented here. Those results indicate that the problem of data exchange can be solved, and that the standard exchange format applied in the National Land Information System (NLIS) is highly applicable in Taiwan.