19 June 2001
ON QUERYING IN DISTRIBUTED SPATIAL OBJECT DATABASES
K. Shaw
Naval Research Laboratory
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-5004
O. Karam
Tulane University
New Orleans, LA
Abstract
There is a lot of interest in Geographical Information Systems. They require spatial data types. The complex nature of spatial data makes the Object Oriented approach to modeling the more appropriate for them. So, for databases that contain spatial data, an object oriented database is better suited.
Also, spatial data presents special opportunities and challenges for distribution. Spatial databases for GISs are usually very large. Also, the data is geographically distributed already, so it is more natural to distribute it.
There has been a lot of work on querying in OO databases. Spatial data, however, presents special characteristics that ask for a somewhat different approach. Distribution, of course, adds more difficulties to the query process.
In this paper we will discuss some of the issues that affect querying in each of the areas (distributed, spatial, object oriented) and its intersection. Some experiences will also be presented.
Sponsored by the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, the Defense Modeling and Simulation
Office, and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency s Terrain Modeling Program
Office.
Published in the proceedings of the First Southern Symposium on Computing (SSC 98), Hattiesburg, MS, December 4-5, 1998.
Naval Research
Laboratory Contribution Number NRL/PP/7441 98-0019.
Conference Proceedings