Data Bases: Concepts and Types

Topics to be Covered
• Organizing Information
• DBMSs in Organizations
• Traditional DBMS (data base management systems)
– flat files (in reality, no DBMS)
– navigational data bases
• Hierarchical & Network Tomlinson
– relational data base (RDBM) discusses these
– The move to Object-Oriented concepts concepts in
• Geographic or Spatial Data Base Models Chapter 9.
– CAD
– Coverages/Georelational Data Model
– Shapefiles
– Geodatabase Data Model
• Appendix: Object Oriented Implementations
Next time, we will cover database design details.

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 Organizing Information: Tables
Parcel Table
Parcel # Address Block $ Value
8 501 N Hi 1 105,450
9 590 N Hi 2 89,780
36 1001 W. Main 4 101,500
75 1175 W. 1st 12 98,000

Information generally stored in Tables in which:

• rows: records, observations, features (ArcInfo and ArcGIS), concepts or entities
– ‘all’ information about one occurrence of a feature
• columns: fields, data element, variables, items (ArcInfo), properties or attributes
– contain info about a specific characteristic for all the features
Data Base Management Systems (DBMS) are software systems for
managing these
• DBMSs differ according to number of tables and how they are associated with each
other

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 Organizing Information : Entities & Attributes
Entity (in row)
name address dob ssn
•Each column has a unique name
jane 201 N. Hi 45 274-54-8910 •Each row is unique and has an ID
joan 207 N Main 55 234-81-7890 •Sequence of columns is insignificant
•Sequence of rows is insignificant
jim 20 Elm 75 890-75-9876 •Entries in columns are single-valued
jean 40 Oak 80 x04-23-7890 •Entries in columns are of the same kind

Attribute (in column)

• Entity --person, place, thing or event about which information is maintained
• student/citizen/customer, street segment, polygon
• entities are stored in records (physical location)
• attribute--a piece of information describing an entity
• name, ssn, dob, gpa---length, direction, street number---population, median home value
• attributes are stored in fields (physical location)
• called a data element (logical reference) in a DBMS
• Primary key (or key field)--an attribute which uniquely identifies each instance of an entity
• preferably numeric, such as ssn (but that’s a bad choice!)
• Foreign (secondary) key—an attribute or set of attributes which identifies the entity with
which another entity is associated
• May or may not be the same as the key field
DBMSs differ in how these associations are formed
 Organizing Information: Classes
Object Classes
a set of non-spatial entities with similar
characteristics e.g. owners of property
Feature Classes
a set of spatial entities with similar characteristics e.g.
property parcels
Classes are represented in Tables which are physically
stored in the computer system as files
Users/applications may access this information directly
thru the operating system’s native file structure or
indirectly via an intervening software layer called a
DBMS (database management system)

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 Information Organization: Physical

collection of related files:

Database all property records
Wh

Tables stored in
collection of relate records:
Files
at

residence owners in Plano

us

Entities stored in
er

collection of related items:

Records
de

your name, address,tax bill

als

Attributes stored in
set of characters forming
w it

Fields one item--e.g. your name

h

bytes
Wh als w
de
at

bits
ha ith
rdw
are
 Databases within Organizations

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 Organizations without DBMS
Data File
User Department Computer Application (stored as OS file)

Payroll Application
Accounting Employee File

Purchasing Purchasing Vendor File

Application

Tax Collection Tax Bills Land Parcel File

City
Utilities Water Bills Utility Hook-up File

School Student Affairs Student Billing Student File

Development Solicitation Request Donor File

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Integrated Data Base Organizations with DBMS
person entity
id
address Payroll Payroll
name Application Dept.
ssn
courses taken
job title
property entity Data Base
id Management
Purchasing Purchasing
location System
Application Dept.
owner
utility connect
corporate entity
id
address Billing xxxx
name Application Dept.
activity

Ideally, all data in a DBMS is:

•stored once
•defined consistently
•used by all programs
In practice, this is something of a pipedream!
 Why Data Base Management Systems (DBMS)?
• with OS files, application programmer must define User/Programmer
data needed and specify its characteristics and Logical and Physical
location
– files often tied to one application/user
• DBMS provides an interface between application OS File Structure
program and physical data files stored by the OS.
• with DBMS, user/programmer defines only data
needed, the DBMS tracks physical location and User/Programmer
Logical
characteristics. Data element
• DBMS presents logical view of data to user/ DBMS
programmer, while maintaining internally a physical
view of where and how data is actually stored. Physical
field
– files more easily shared between applications/users
• Ideally, all data in a DBMS is: OS File Structure
• stored once
• defined consistently
• used by all programs (In practice, this is something
of a pipedream!)
 DBMS Components:
• data dictionary: inventory of data elements; defines and stores
their characteristics:
• physical characteristics (size, type)
• location
• ownership and security
• usage (last date, business organ, programs, reports, etc.)
• data definition or administration language: language used by
data base administrator to specify the content and structure (the
schema) of the data base
– Originally this was unique to each vendor, and still is to a degree
– UML (Unified Modeling Language) now provides a standardized, visual-
based approach for creating schemas
• data manipulation language: commands permitting end-users
and/or programmers to extract and transform the data
• structured query language (SQL) is the standard
• Applications often contain point & click interfaces which generate SQL queries

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 Traditional DBMS’s
(data base management systems)

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 Flat File Systems: no DBMS
• A few, large ‘rectangular’ tables, each contained in an operating system (OS) file
– one (often very large) file contains all data for a particular application
– each normally associated with a particular group of users.
• one field (or a combination) in each table designated as key field
– unique identifier for each record
– used to sort file
– records identified by key value can be found quickly
• processing focused on search: several alternative methods:
– sequential search: from first record on down
– binary search: starts at middle; successively eliminates ‘halves’ with greater than/less than tests
– indexed search: search (usually binary) via a second (index) file containing only key field and address of record in the main file.
– smaller file to search, therefore faster
• only need to re-sort index file, not big main file, when records added
• can have several index files for different keys
– (note: index files used in other contexts (e.g. geocoding in ArcView) to speed processing)
• problems with flat file structures
– data items often blank over multiple records, so wastes computer resources (but disks cheap)
– data items often repeated over multiple records, so wasteful and possible inconsistency
– access to records by any other field than key field is slow
– adding fields requires major re-programming
– adding new records requires additional processing of indexes
 Flat File Example
Property File
Parcel NumberParcel Addddress Block District Tract Owner #1 Name Owner #1 Address Owner # 2 Name Owner #2 Address Value
8 501 Sadowski 1 a 101 Sadowski. M.G. 501 Sadowski 105450
9 590 Sadowski 2 b 1 Adams 590 Sadowski Adams, M 590 Sadowski 89780
36 1001 Adnan 4 b 105 Sadowski, M.G. 501 Sadowski 101500
75 1175 Dadlexz 12 e 202 Kroeger 592 Tierney Bertrand. K 1097 Bertrand 98000

Key field

One record for each parcel. All information must

be recorded in the file. Access to the data in a
record is accomplished by searching through all
records for a value in one field, called a key field

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 Data Base Management Systems (DBMS)
Navigational File Systems (hierarchical & network) eg IBM’s IMS
Characteristics
• multiple files, each with different record structure (ie different fields)
• a record designated as master or parent record
• each parent record can have multiple child records associated with it
• in turn, child records can themselves be parents and have children
• pointers track the parent-child links
• Hierarchical: child has only one parent (one-to-many from parent perspective)
• Network: child can be related to multiple parents (many-to-many relationship)
Problems
• can only access a record via a parent
– must navigate through the hierarchy/network structure
• pointer structure can become very complex (espec. for network)
– take up more space than data
– difficult for systems staff to manage
– incomprehensible to users
No longer used except for “legacy” applications (applications not yet
converted to current technology).
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 Hierarchical DBMS:
To produce a map of values by
City
Dallas
District district would involve tracing
A down from the district table
Mesquite
B
Fresno through the block table to the
C
Garland parcel tables associated with
each block.
Block Parcel Table
1 Parcel # Address $ Value
2 8 501 N Hi 105,450
4 10 590 N Oak 89,780
12 6 1001 N Hi 101,500
3 75 W. 3st 98,000
Parcel Table
Parcel # Address $ Value
9 590 N Hi 89,780
63 15 N Ash 101,500
 Data Base Management Systems (DBMS)
Relational Systems
Characteristics
• again, multiple tables (‘files’), each with different record structure
• tables can be related if a common record identifier or secondary (foreign) key (column) present in
both tables
– relations are created on the fly without need to maintain pointers.
– relate: temporary connection between two tables
– join: permanent merger of two tables into one
Problems Not adhered to by ESRI in ArcGIS
• high computational requirements if many joins needed
• tables and ‘entity relationships’ need to be carefully planned for efficiency
• assumes data amenable to record/field, observation/variable representation. What about graphics?
Examples
• ESRI’s INFO (UNIX platform originally, now also MS NT/XP)
• IBM’s DB2 (mainframe and others)
• Oracle, Ingress, Sybase, Informix (Unix originally, now also MS NT/2000/XP)
• SQL Server, Access (Windows NT/200/XP)

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 Relational DBMS:
Parcel Table
Parcel # Address Block $ Value Goal: produce map
of values by district/
8 501 N Hi 1 105,450
neighborhood
9 590 N Hi 2 89,780
Problem: no district
36 1001 W. Main 4 101,500 code available in Parcel
75 1175 W. 1st 12 98,000 Table
(primary key field)

(secondary or foreign key field)

Geography Table
Solution: join Parcel Table, Block District Tract City
containing values, with 1 A 101 Dallas
Geograpahy Table, containing 2 B 101 Dallas
location codings, using Block 4 B 105 Dallas
as key field 12 E 202 Garland
(primary key field) 17
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 The Move to Object-Oriented
Architectures

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 The Move to Object-Oriented Architectures
OODBMS Approach
Classic RDBMS problems:
• Data model – object: data encapsulated by code, thus can be
– tabular, record oriented “data” or “software code”
– can’t easily handle ‘globs’ : maps, – a “thing” but not necessarily physical (e.g.
circuit diagrams, engineering power pole, sewer network or hash-mark table,
drawings
– data and code are functionally
zoom capability)
separate – objects identified by LOID (logical object ID)
• Distribution model – check out object to work on it, perhaps by
– focus on server; multiple people (concept of ‘versioning’: see
– limited client activity; no local data Zeiler Chap. 7)
base
• Transaction model – reuse objects (software or data) in new
– short term, immediate: insert, programs
update, delete – complements rather than replaces RDBMS
– no long term check out (for design,
salesman on road , server
– Data objects stored as complex rows in tables
unavailable, etc.)
 Object Concepts: objects
Classic Procedural
Programming
– step by step instructions
– data and operations separate
– One programmers code
often “crashed’ when used
with another’s
OO Programming
– operations and data
grouped into objects
– objects responsible to carry
out their own operations
– objects re-useable
– User needs to know only
how to communicate with
the object, not how it works
inside.
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All Objects (e.g. a software
button, or a water valve) have
– properties
• characteristics of the object
(stored in instance variables)
• e.g. button/valve size, color,
– Events or interfaces
• actions an object recognizes
• Invokes its behaviors
• e.g. being clicked or turned
on/off
– methods (or behaviors)
• actions associated with or
carried out by object
• open browser, allow water flow
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Object Concepts:
classes
• All objects are part of higher-
order object classes: they inherit
what they know and can do
from their ancestor object class. •
• All objects in a class share
certain characteristics and
capabilities, but each also has
some unique characteristic(s) or •
capabilities
• When an event happens to an
object (e.g. it is mouse-clicked)
it reacts in a certain way
according to its data and code.
Classes are sometimes viewed as
blueprints or templates for objects
Data + class = object
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Examples:
• You are a human object. You are
– different from cats and fish (other animate
object classes)
– share many characteristics with other humans
(same object class)--two feet, spine, etc.
– have certain characteristics that make you, you
as a class of human, if smoke gets in your eyes
(an event happens), your eyes tear/blink
(behavior)
– nobody taught you this; you inherited it because
of your human ancestor class
“land property” higher-order object class (super
class) : modify certain characteristics to create
residential, commercial, agricultural, etc. lower-
order property classes, and again single, multi,
group lower-order residential classes
• As a residential property object, when October
1st occurs (event), you issue tax bill
– You inherit this behavior because of your land
property ancestor class
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 Spatial (Geographic)
Data Models
Examine now how spatial data
models have evolved from traditional
to object oriented.

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 Computer Aided Design ( CAD)
• CAD Data Model (1960s & 1970s)
– Maps created with general purpose computer aided design (CAD) software
– The primary approach in the 1960 and 1970s
Problems:
– Essentially only a graphic: no topological relationships--No knowledge that two lines (roads)
intersect
– Different features may be combined in same layer or feature class: roads and railroads in same
line layer or feature class.
– Limited attribute information and no data base: generally just map layer names and annotation
labels
• CAD Model Today (2000s)
– Still the basis for engineering drawings
• AutoCAD and Intergraph are the industry leaders
– ESRI’s attempt to develop its own competing CAD product (ArcCAD) now abandoned
– ESRI’s strategy today is to handle CAD drawings within GIS software as “just another data type”
– ArcGIS 9 has powerful capabilities for reading CAD files.
 “Georelational”
• Coverage Data Model (1980s and 1990s)
– Introduced with first commercial GIS package ArcInfo in 1981
– Spatial data stored in indexed binary files for performance reasons
– Full topological relationship information maintained: e.g. nodes that delimit a line
• Permitted sophisticated spatial analysis
– Attribute data about features (entities) stored in data base tables using proprietary INFO relational data base system
• Allowed user to customize, organize and store substantial amounts of attribute data and relate to spatial data
Problems:
– Complex structure: multiple files in folders within a Workspace directory
– Non-industry standard data base (INFO)
• User must maintain two data bases: INFO and industry standard (e.g ORACLE)
• corporate data often must be duplicated in INFO attribute tables
• General corporate users isolated from spatial data
– Features (entities) represented as generic points, lines, polygons
• Behavior of a “stream” line same as a “road” line
• Complex AML (Arc Macro Language) programming required to represent unique behavior
• Coverage Model Today (2000s)
– now (as off ArcInfo Version 8 in 2000) called the Georelational model
– Has been replaced by the Geodatabase
– Many organizations are in the process of converting, but it’s a big job
 Shapefile
• Shapefile Data Model (1990s)
– Introduced with ArcView 2.0 in early/mid 1990s
– openly published structure for spatial data (Coverages are proprietary)
• Partially an attempt (successfully!) by ESRI to make “their” format the industry standard
– much simpler than coverages: 3 main files rather than multiple folders and files
– Attribute (feature) data stored in dBase (.dbf) files
– Very successful and popular
Problems:
– Spatial data not fully topological
– dBase data base out-dated and abandoned by the market
• Shapefile today (2000s)
– Still a useful model for its simplicity: it will endure
– Especially valuable for sharing/moving spatial data between different vendors formats
– Never intended as an industrial strength spatial data base system
– For internal operations, Geodatabase is preferred: it’s a far more powerful model
• Shapefile is a file-based model
• Geodatabase is a database-based model
 Smart Data Compression (SDC) format
(an aside)
• A proprietary “flat file” format from ESRI used by commercial data vendors to
distribute data sets to be used with ESRI software (e.g. highway network files)
• data is encrypted, highly-compressed and read only unless converted to a standard
format (shapefile, etc..) with ArcCatalog
• Essentially, is a copyright protection device and an inconvenience (generally) for
users
• An SDC feature (vector) dataset is a table of attributes containing one or more Shape
columns. Each Shape column contains a different representation of the same feature.
• In ArcCatalog you’ll see one SDC feature class for each Shape column. All feature
classes in the feature dataset will have the same type of features, points, lines, or
polygons, and the same set of attributes.
• Typically each SDC feature class would be used at different map scales. For example,
an SDC feature dataset representing major highways might have four feature classes:
majhwys, majhwys_1, majhwys_2, and majhwys_3. The majhwys feature class
contains the most detailed features, while the majhwys_3 feature class contains the
most generalized features.
– A group layer can take advantage of this by showing the majhwys feature class at large
scales and the majhwys_3 feature class at small scales.
• To create data in SDC format you must use a Data Developer's Kit. However, ArcGIS
provides conversion tools that let you convert from SDC data to shapefiles and other
formats.

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•
Geodatabase
Geodatabase Data Model
– Introduced with ArcInfo v.8 in 2000
– Built on object-oriented concepts and technology
Aims
– handle complex geographic data with a uniform data model
– Data model is independent of the underlying relational data base (RDBMS)
• Can store in any industry standard DBMS (e.g Access, Oracle or SQL Server)
• Technically, its referred to as an application tier on top of the dbms
– Integrity of data is enhanced thru data rules rather than writing special code:
• Attribute domains: range domains and coded value domains
– Control permissable values for attributes
– # of lanes must be integer between 1 and 12
• Validation rules: attribute rules, connectivity rules, relationship rules
– Dirt road cannot intersect with a freeway
– Data rules, plus code if necessary, can give objects behavior: they are closer to their real world and logical model
equivalents
• Objects are poles, roads, parcels rather than points, lines, polygons
– see Zeiler, Chapter 1 for overview, Chapter 5 for detail
Geodatabase Today (2000s)
– The preferred approach to use today
– Is a true database unlike shapefiles
• Powerful capabilities (domains, validation rules, etc) for ensuring data integrity and simplifying data entry
– Can be incorporated into “industry standard” data bases such as Access, SQL Server, Oracle
Much more detail later!!!
 Geodatabase: two formats available
• Personal Geodatabase
– Single user editing only
– Max of 250,000 features per layer (feature class), 2GB total database size
– Implemented in MS Access
– Requires no additional licensing
• Enterprise Multi-user geodatabase
– Supports simultaneous editing by multiple users via versioning
– Each user simultaneously edits different versions of same layer
• Potential conflicts are resolved when versions are consolidated
– implemented via Spatial Database Engine (SDE), an extra cost product
– SDE provides connection to mainstream object- relational databases (e.g,
Oracle, IBM’s DB2, Microsoft SQL) which stores the geographic data,
another extra cost

Server
GIS
User SDE db

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 Spatial (Geographic) Data Models
from Other Vendors
• Focus above is on spatial data models from
ESRI, the GIS market leader
• Other GIS vendors (MapInfo, Intergraph
Geomedia, etc.) have equivalent data models,
although generally less sophisticated than the
geodatabase
• Oracle Spatial is offered by Oracle Corporation,
the database market leader

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 Oracle Spatial
• Offered by Oracle Corporation as a capability for storing geographic data
– Originally called Spatial Data Option (SDO) when first released with Oracle 7.3.3
– Version 8i provided a new, object-relational data model
• Is a native capability completely independent of ESRI
– Not the same as using ESRI’s SDE to save a Geodatabase in Oracle
• Supposedly possible (although we have not actually done it) for ArcGIS to
directly read data stored in Oracle Spatial
• Oracle Spatial includes:
– a tool to read shapefiles into Oracle Spatial
– MapViewer, a primitive “GIS” application for viewing spatial data
– Various commands for doing spatial analysis, for example:
• SDO_BUFFER
• SDO_NN (identify nearest neighbor)
• SDO_DISTANCE
• SDO_NN_DISTANCE
• Could be viewed as Oracle’s attempt to compete with ESRI in the GIS arena
– More plausibly, allows existing Oracle users to incorporate geographic analysis in
their Oracle application
• E.g. allow an insurance company to estimate potential claims from a hurricane

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 Conclusion
• Object oriented, or more specifically object-relational,
databases are now the norm
• They are much more sophisticated than their
predecessors
• They can substantially reduce the need for coding and
custom programming, and they improve data quality
But there are costs:
• Their effective use requires planning
• Many decisions are required for efficient use
These issues will be addressed in:
dbdecisions.ppt
dbdesign.ppt
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 Appendix: Object Oriented
Implementations

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 Object Concepts: terminology
• Components
– objects implemented in binary code (essentially synonymous with object)
• Encapsulation
– the packaging of properties and methods (behaviors) into objects, with access only thru a well defined set of
software rules or interfaces (internal detail of objects is ‘hidden’)
• Instances and Instantiation
– objects (actual “things” e.g. my single family [SF] residence) are instances of classes (purely conceptual e.g.
residential class)
– An object is instantiated when data (e.g. from a table) is added to class events & methods (class + data = object)
• Inheritance
– sharing or “passing down” of properties and methods from higher order (general) to lower order (specific) classes
– Square footage passes down from all property to residential to SF residence, but # of bedrooms only from
residential to SF residential
• Associations
– Objects have various types of relationships with each other
• General association: a person owns a parcel
• Inheritance association: a house is a type of building

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Object Concepts: IT software implementation
• Sun’s Java (1990-91)
– intended to be platform independent
• Object Management Group (CORBA)
– attempt at industry standard
– But Microsoft went its own way
• Microsoft (MS)
– OLE (object linking and embedding)
– COM (Component Object Model) with ActiveX components
• components are used in MS development environments such as Visual
Basic (part), Visual C++, Visual Java
• ArcGIS version 8 and later is written using COM objects
– .NET released in 2003 to extend OO programming to the web
• wrappers provide backward compatibility for COM objects

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 Object Concepts:
Initial GIS software implementation
• Smallworld
– first OO-based package
– Now owned by GE and focuses on utility systems management
• Intergraph
– first major GIS vendor to embrace MS OLE/COM with its GeoMedia product
• ESRI ArcView 3 & Avenue (early 1990s)
– proprietary OO objects and associated development environment (Avenue)
• ArcInfo 7.1.2 ODE (Open Development Environment) (mid 1990s)
– attempt to create objects out of classic ArcInfo code
• ESRI Map Objects (late 1990s)
– Limited suite of COM objects for use with development packages such as VB, Delphi
– Intended for incorporating geographic analysis in non-GIS application systems
– Java edition released in 2002
– Does not require ArcGIS desktop license to run, but royalties must be paid
– Objects not compatible with ArcObjects (see next slide)
– Been replaced by ArcGIS Engine

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 Object Concepts:
Current ESRI GIS software implementation
ArcGIS (8.0 released 2000, 9.0 released 2004)
– ArcView 3 and ArcInfo 7 integrated and totally rewritten using COM/ActiveX
ArcObjects
– The objects out of which ArcGIS built
– Are available for customizing and extending ArcGIS applications via:
Visual Basic for Applications
– Allows customization and extended capability within ArcGIS desktop
– Requires ArcGIS desktop license to run these ArcObject customizations
ArcGIS Engine (released with version 9 of ArcGIS in 2004)
– Allows ArcObjects objects to be used in building standalone, client-based
applications
– Requires royalty payment, but no client GIS license
– Runs under Windows, Unix, Linux, with support for Java, C++, COM and .NET
– Replaces MapObjects
ArcGIS Server (released with version 9 of ArcGIS in 2004)
– Permits the creation of server-based GIS capabilities
– Provides GIS capabilities to a user without a desktop GIS system via web
interface
– No client royalty or license required
– Supports .NET and Java on Windows, and Java on Sun Solaris and Linux
 Object Concepts: database implementation
• Database Vendors
– specialized oo data base vendors, such as Versant, now gone
– most mainstream relational database vendors (Oracle, etc) incorporate “glob” data
– Referred to as the “object-relational” model
• GIS Vendors (ESRI specifically)
– Georelational database: classic non-OO model
• special purpose relational database (INFO)
• Coverages store vector data using point/line/polygon concept
• raster data and TINS kept in separate files
– Geodatabase: new OO model with two formats
• Personal geodatabase implemented in MS Access
– Single user editing with no versioning
– Max of 250,000 features per layer (feature class), 2GB total database size
• Enterprise Multi-user geodatabase implemented via Spatial Database Engine (SDE) connection to
mainstream OO-capable relational database (e.g, Oracle)
– Multiuser support with versioning (multiple users simultaneously edit different versions of same layer).

GIS Server
User SDE db