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September 2003 |
Interoperability - Trend or Reality?
What does this mean in terms of interoperability? Interoperability can be very limiting and mean only that two versions of the same application can operate with each other. Open interoperability means those same applications must be able to interoperate with other applications (regardless of vendor brand format or platform). Similar to the example of the Sony CD player that works with different brands of CDs, OGC is working to set specification standards for applications to interoperate with other applications, developed with the same standards. Some of the OpenGIS specifications adopted by OGC members and released to the public include Web Map Server (WMS), Styled Layer Descriptor (SLD), Web Feature Server (WFS), OpenGIS Location Services (OpenLS) and Geographic Markup Language (GML). All new specifications adopted after these must harmonize to build upon open interoperability.
GSDI is another organization concerned with the status of interoperability in the geospatial industry. Crisis situations have proven the need for standards-based technology so that data sharing is easier between organizations, and even nations. Earthquakes, terrorist attacks, hurricanes, major fires and other tragedies have been a major impetus to become aware that there is a challenge. Though damage may be extensive in these events, some loss and casualties can be avoided if a plan to address the catastrophe is quickly developed and implemented. When lives are at risk and seconds count, instant access to critical information can mean the difference between life and death for one or many. Subsequent decision/support efforts are aided by fast communication and the availability of accurate, up-to-date spatial and situational information. GSDI is working with members from more than 50 countries to help ensure the availability of geographic data and services across national boundaries.
Spatial data infrastructures are being initiated at the regional or national level in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. For example, the European Commission is sponsoring the INSPIRE initiative, which is gaining momentum. Europe is working to realize data harmony that will ensure easy access to information and standards-based applications and systems. Increasingly, countries are beginning to see the advantages of sharing spatial data, whether in crisis situations or day-to-day business processes. Open interoperability will result in better business practices and more effective ways to meet human needs.
Technologies Past and Present
Several technologies that provide the infrastructure to enable interoperability have emerged during the past decade. The Component Object Model (COM), the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), JAVA and Extensible Markup Language (XML) are the most notable of these technologies.
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When lives are at risk and seconds count, instant access to critical information can mean the difference between life and death. Subsequent decision/support efforts are aided by fast communication and the availability of accurate, up-to-date spatial and situational information. GSDI is working with more than 50 countries to help ensure such availability of
geographic data.
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COM is Microsoft's underlying object architecture for allowing objects written by different companies in different programming languages to interact. CORBA is the Object Management Group's (OMG) adopted standard, which is designed to allow different object request brokers to interact in a distributed environment. JAVA, written by Sun Microsystems, is an interpreted object-oriented programming language similar to Microsoft C, but has been designed to run with minimum resources and is entirely platform independent. While each of these technologies provide a certain degree of interoperability, the goal of interoperability across platforms remains elusive.
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