A Methodology for GIS Databases Integration

Abstract

The effective development of a Multidatabase (MDB) environment for integration of independent Geographic Information System (GIS) databases, requires a methodology to guide the users and Database Administrators, as well as the provision of a foundation for the development of tools to help the integration. The existing methodologies do not consider characteristics of the cartographic representation in the schemas nor do they take into account the semantic richness of geographic data. They are also limited to a given application domain or to specific information communities. This work presents MMultiGIS, a methodology for the integration of heterogeneous and distributed GIS databases. It has been developed for the MultiGIS System, which aims at providing semantic interoperability among GIS databases. MMultiGIS disciplines the activities during schema integration taking into account the spatial context, the application areas and the semantic and syntax of database schemas. This methodolog..