Temporal support for land information systems in object-oriented modeling
Jaeik Liou · 1999
With the development of distributed object technologies andthe overwhelming advent of the Web, an object-oriented datamodel for GIS/LIS is proposed, possessing significantlyincreasing importance and application, when movingfrom astatic position to a distributed and heterogeneous view. Theconceptual model of land information hinges on a complexspatio-temporal object model for defining not only collectionsof land parcel objects but also distributions of them within afour domain framework. However, harmonizing relationships between time and spaceare not simple, for temporal ontology is semantically differentfrom that of space. The temporal history of an object makes itpossible to trace actor behavior footprints in space. Thevestiges of temporal location and extent are important paths inunderstanding the history of space, attribute and actor. The basic entities considered are examinations of spatialand temporal objects, highlighted in the light of temporalprimitives and temporal relationships with space giving rise totemporal versioning of objects and databases. The developmentof spatio-temporal data model in GIS/LIS parallels the progressof temporal databases. Temporal components are implemented withthe relational model, then with object-oriented data models.Temporal object models and their functions in existingspatio-temporal data models are examined. A conceptualspatio-temporal object model for LIS is illustrated withvariants of temporal LIS. A fundamental challenge in creating next generation GIS/LISis in supporting interconnectivity and interoperability withindistributed and heterogeneous spatio-temporal databases,providing various temporal principles, assistingspatio-temporal analysis and forecast. A conceptual spatio-temporal object model (STOM) isproposed, illustrating interactions within four domains,facilitating actor domain description impacting on spatial,temporal and attributive behavior in the real world. Key Words: Object-Orientation,Temporal Object, Database Version, Spatio-Temporal Data Model,WebGIS, XML, STOM