Chapter 2

Geographic information and spatial

data types

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 Different types of geographic phenomena

• some phenomena manifest themselves essentially

everywhere in the study area, while others only
occur in certain localities.
1. A (geographic) field is a geographic phenomenon
for which, for every point in the study area, a
value can be determined. (temperature,
barometric pressure and elevation)
2. (Geographic) objects populate the study area, and
are usually well distinguishable, discrete, bounded
entities. The space between them is potentially
empty.
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 Geographic fields
• Fields can be discrete or continuous, and if
they are continuous, they can even be
differentiable.

In a continuous field, the fundamental function

is assumed to be continuous (such as
temperature).
Continuity means that all changes in field
values are gradual.
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 Geographic fields
• Discrete fields, cut up the study space in
mutually exclusive, bounded parts, with all
locations in one part having the same field
value. (land classification, geological units).
 Discrete fields as well as objects make use of
‘bounded’ features.
– A discrete field still assigns a value to every
location.

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 Different types of geographic
phenomena

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 Computer representations of
geographic information
• Raster representations (Regular tessellations)
– Is a partition of space into mutually exclusive cells
that together make up the complete study area.
– In a regular tessellation, the cells are the same shape
and size.
– Square, regular tessellations are known under various
names: raster, grid
– The size of the area that a grid cell represents is
called the raster’s resolution

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 Vector representations

•In vector representations, an attempt is made to

associate georeferences with the geographic
phenomena explicitly.
•A Georeference is a coordinate pairs from some
geographic space also known as vector
•Note: rasters do not clearly store georeferences
of the phenomena they represent.

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 Georeferences

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 Point representations

• Points are defined as single coordinate pairs

(x,y) when we work in 2D or coordinate
triplets (x,y,z) when we work in 3D

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 Line representations
• Used to represent one-dimensional objects (roads,
railroads, canals, rivers…)
• Line is defined by 2 end nodes and internal nodes.
• An internal node or vertex is like a point that only
serves to define the line

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 Line representation
• Network is a collection of connected lines

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 Area representation
• When area objects are
stored using a vector
approach, the usual
technique is to apply a
boundary model.
• This means that each
area feature is
represented by some
arc/node structure that
determines a polygon
as the area’s boundary.
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 Area representation

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 Area representation
b3

b4

Line From To Left Right

b1 1 4 None A

b2 1 2 A B

b3 1 3 B None

b4 2 4 A C
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 Topology and Spatial relationships

• Topology is a mathematical model which is

concerned with adjacency and connectivity of
features.
• Topology deals with spatial properties of a
feature, such as shape, boundary, etc

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 Topology and Spatial relationships
A point is at an end point of an arc
Topological An arc is a simple arc (the arc does not cross over itself
A point is on the boundary of a region
A point is in the interior of a region
A point is in the exterior of a region
An area is open (excludes all its boundary)
An area is closed (includes all its boundary)
An area is simple (has no holes)

Distance between two points

Non-topological Bearing of one point from another point
Length of an arc
Perimeter of an area
Area of an area

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 Spatial relationships

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 Scale and resolution
• Map scale can be defined as the ratio
between distance on a paper map and
distance of the same stretch in the terrain
– 1:50,000 →1 cm on map = 50,000 cm in reality
– 1 cm on map = 500 meters in reality
– Large-scale →much detail of a small area
– Small-scale →few detail (e.g., world map)
• The size of the area a pixel cell represents is
called resolution.
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 Representation of geographic
objects

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 Raster and vector compared

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 Spatial Data Base Management
• A database is a large, computerized collection of structured
data
• A database management system (DBMS) is a software
package that allows the user to set up, use and maintain a
database.
• Currently, All major GIS packages provide facilities to link with
a DBMS and exchange attribute data with it. Spatial (vector)
and attribute data are still sometimes stored in separate
structures, although they can now be stored directly in a
spatial database.
• In a GIS, features are represented with their (geometric and
non-geometric) attributes and relationships. The geometry of
features is represented with the respective dimension
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•
Reasons for using a DBMS
There are various reasons why one would want to use a
DBMS for data storage and processing.
• A DBMS supports the storage and manipulation of very large
data sets.
• A DBMS supports the parallel use of the same data set by
many users.
• A query is a computer program that extracts data from the
database that meet the situations indicated in the query
• A DBMS supports the use of a data model. A data model is a
language with which one can define a database structure and
manipulate the data stored in it
• A DBMS allows the control of data redundancy.

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 Spatial data presentation
• The presentation of spatial data, whether in
print or on-screen, in maps or in tabular
displays, or as ‘raw data’, is closely related to
the disciplines of cartography, printing and
publishing.
• The presentation may either be an end-
product, for example as a printed atlas, or an
intermediate product, as in spatial data made
available through the internet.
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 Spatial data
presentatio
Method Devices
Hard copy printer
plotter (pen plotter, ink-jet printer,
current transfer printer, electrostatic
plotter)
film writer
Soft copy computer screen
Output of digital magnetic tape
data sets CD-ROM or DVD
the Internet

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