Visualization and geographic information system integration: what are the needs and the requirements, if any?

Addresses the needs and requirements of integrating visualization and geographic information system technologies. There are three levels of integration methods: rudimentary, operational and functional. The rudimentary approach uses the minimum amount of data sharing and exchange between these two technologies. The operational level attempts to provide consistency of the data while removing redundancies between the two technologies. The functional form attempts to provide transparent communication between these respective software environments. At this level, the user only needs to request information and the integrated system retrieves or generates the information depending upon the request. This paper examines the role and impact of these three levels of integration. Stepping further into the future, the paper also questions the long-term survival of these separate disciplines