Semantic database for geographic information systems

A practical geographic information system necessitates the manipulation of an extensive amount of spatially referenced data. From the retrieval process to the display function, the burden on both the hardware and software of the target system to process the data in a time restrictive manner is considerable and creates the impetus for the development of new techniques in data handling. The methods must ensure that the representation to the user is believable, useful, versatile and accomplishes the understood tasks of a GIS: to represent graphically or pictorially, either statically or dynamically, in a determinate span of time, what would be exhausting if not impossible to accomplish textually. A key facet in the achievement of these goals is how data are represented on a virtual storage medium and the manner in which these data are retrieved. The systematic coordination between the data access method and the application that processes a highly detailed visual representation must be time-tolerant for the user when the data are time relative. The challenge is to implement these ideals with the technology most prevalent to current potential users (research facilities, libraries, municipalities), with serious consideration towards all users with a desktop computer