Object-Oriented GIS: The Concepts
Max Egenhofer
Abstract
Object orientation has become the GIS buzzword of the early 1990s.
An object-oriented methodology expected to revolutionize GIS
design, making it easier and faster to design and extend a GIS.
Through a common approach to conceptual modeling, database design,
programming languages, and user interface tools, the impediment of
switching from one concept to another was removed. In addition, an
object-oriented model provides some useful tools for data
abstraction and data structuring, which augment the conventional
tools and overcome some deficiencies inherent to the traditional
relational model. Complex objects and pertinent operations are more
powerful modeling methods than the popular structure of relational
tables and relational algebra. This article presents the principles
of object-oriented modeling applied to geographic data.