Developments of Geographic Information Systems Technology

Abstract

The development of geographic information systems, or computer systems for managing a spatial database, has been closely linked to advances in computer technology. This paper examines the hardware and software components of geographic information systems (GIS), the latest developments of these components, and how they will shape the future of GIS. The main hardware factors that influence the performance and capacity of a computer system are word length, main memory size, processing speed, size of external storage, and data transfer rate between external and main memories. Recent developments in these areas are described. The paper then points out the high cost of software development, and reviews a number of important software tools and techniques that help to produce more powerful, reliable and reusable software. They are database management systems, logic programming, object‐oriented programming, and object‐oriented databases. Finally, the special database requirements of a GIS are presented to illustrate the complexity of a GIS, the problems caused by the need to integrate geometric and nongeometric data and the advantages of a distributed system.