Registries – where Spatial is not Special

This blog post explores a new kind of information management tool – a registry. Part GIS, part database, part document management system… registries occupy a middle ground which may be the sweet spot for a lot of information management problems.

. . . → Read More: Registries – where Spatial is not Special

Wide Area Engineering and the Future of GIS

GIS has its roots in what a geographer or cartographer might call “small-scale” information, information primarily related to issues of land management and the environment.  In the early days, there were many competing acronyms for what is now known as . . . → Read More: Wide Area Engineering and the Future of GIS

Why we need features

While the rise of neo-geography, and in particular Google Earth, has had numerous benefits, it has also undermined many people’s understanding of feature types and why we need them. Having spent some time recently wrestling with DGN files, I was . . . → Read More: Why we need features

If you have an XML face, should you have an XML heart?

A recent blog post by Don Murray, one of our friends at Safe Software, entitled Defeating XML & GML (Part 1/2: Conquer the Fear), noted the importance of XML for data exchange, and asked you to substitute GML, if that . . . → Read More: If you have an XML face, should you have an XML heart?

GML and RESTful Architectures

It may come as a surprise, in some quarters, that GML works rather well in a RESTful world; some might even be surprised to see such remarks coming from me. There is no reason for surprise on either count. While . . . → Read More: GML and RESTful Architectures

Geo-Design – a key aspect of the GeoWeb

The second successful Geo-Design conference was recently held by ESRI.  It was interesting to me as it stressed many themes which have been at the basis of GeoWeb for the past several years.  You may remember Jack Dangermond speaking about . . . → Read More: Geo-Design – a key aspect of the GeoWeb

Industry Outlook 2011

Each year, the December issue of GeoWorld magazine features its annual Industry Outlook for 2011, where leading experts in the field share their forward thinking thoughts and ideas.  The GeoPlace website publishes the full responses by each respondent.

You can read Ron’s response on . . . → Read More: Industry Outlook 2011

Convergence – the Structured Data Revolution

The past two decades have seen a phenomenal convergence of technologies.  Things once regarded as discrete mediums with quite distinct areas of expertise and technologies have, almost overnight, become almost one and the same.  Take telephone, television, radio, and photography, . . . → Read More: Convergence – the Structured Data Revolution

Dictionary Model for GML

Within the OGC, there has been much fuss over the past several years about the use of a specification paradigm called “Core plus extensions”. This has been portrayed as if it provided some sort of formal infrastructure to ensure the . . . → Read More: Dictionary Model for GML

GML and Unstructured Data

In the previous blog post, we discussed the use of CSW-ebRIM in the management and structuring (i.e. attaching meaning) to unstructured data.  In this post, we look at the relationship between GML (Geography Markup Language) and unstructured data.

Unstructured data . . . → Read More: GML and Unstructured Data