Evaluating Inconsistencies Among Multiple Representations
Max Egenhofer, Eliseo Clementini, and Paolino di Felice Sixth International Symposium on Spatial Data Handling, Edinburgh, Scotland, pp. 901-920, September 1994.
Abstract
If Geographic Information Systems (GISs) contain multiple
representations of the same geographic objects at different levels
of detail, it becomes necessary to compare the different
representations and assess whether they contradict each other or
not. Topological information is generally considered first-class
geographic information and as such the preservation of topological
relations among objects in different representations manifests a
critical criterion for the comparison of multiple representations
and their consistency evaluation. This paper describes a framework
within which the topological consistency of multiple
representations can be assessed. The rational for assessing
topological similarity is the monotonicity assumption of a
generalization, under which the topology of any object and any
topological relation between objects must stay the same through
consecutive representation levels; or continuously decrease in
complexity and detail. Such changes are assessed through object
similarity and relation similarity, respectively. Within this
framework, only those topological invariants can be changed that
are at least on an ordinal scale.
PDF
Max Egenhofer, 
Eliseo Clementini, and 
Paolino di Felice