Object Oriented DBMSs using GIS Data

Data management and organization have become so complex and challenging in today’s electronic age of information. In the last decade major changes have occurred in the database domain, as the result of increased interest to non-traditional database applications such as multimedia, office automation, CAD, CASE, GIS, Web databases, and others. In contrast to the relational era, the current database world is more diverse and showing contradictory tendencies. On the one hand, vendors of popular relational database management systems (DBMS), such as IBM, Informix and Oracle, extend their products with new capabilities, including support for non-traditional data types (text, graphics, sound, video, spatial data, etc.) and for object-oriented concepts, such as ADT-s, classes and inheritance. Independently, the Object Data Management Group (ODMG) proposes a standard based on a pure object model. A lot of research and development from the industry and academia is devoted to various aspects of object-relational and object-oriented DBMS. Much has been said about object orientation, and how it should change the face of information technology. But what would be the real benefits of using an object-oriented GIS? Basic concepts in object technology, such as inheritance, polymorphism and encapsulation are reviewed, and their meaning is transported to the needs of a GIS.