The positive impact of opengis
Brimmer Sherman
Intergraph software solutions IW17B2 huntsville, Alabama 35894-0001
Abstract
The information technology community is embracing open standards for the obvious
cost and performance benefits. Interoperability, componentware, distributed computing,
and the Internet are just a few of the driving factors behind this trend. Geodata
processing is not far behind. Moreover, the GIS user community will demand that their
geoprocessing software exchange heterogeneous geodata and interoperate with other
vendors componentware. The current monolithic GIS’S have problems transferring data
between heterogeneous and homogeneous platforms and data sources. Geodata
model incompatibilities compound this issue. By adopting an OpenGIS standard that
defines geoprocessing interoperability specifications, the GIS community at large, will
be able to freely access and exchange heterogeneous geodata, interoperate with
componentware written by developers from around the world, take advantage of
distributed computing and network-based computing, utilize “plug and play” geodata
access and geoprocessing tools, and exploit the Internet.
Introduction
The last 10 years have seen incredible advancements in the development of both GIS
and the many complementary technologies necessary for the full empowerment of GIS.
The development of this emerging science is due in large part to the significant
contributions made by many individuals in the academic community, in all levels of
government, and in private enterprise.
Whether GIS is used to improve the quality of life or streamline business operations, the
benefits of its practical day-to-day application are undeniable. Yet, one thing that will
greatly accelerate the use and versatility of GIS technology is geodata interoperability.
The software industry’s adoption of componentware and the Open GIS Consortium’s
(OGC) OpenGIS specification will provide the framework to enable interoperable
geoprocessing.
The use of standard components to build products is a common practice. The
manufacturing industry made significant advancements when they incorporated the use
of standard parts (componentware) in the production process. This enabled them to
take advantage of prebuilt items when building new products. So, to build a new
product one did not have to first build the screws and bolts and washers from scratch.
Instead, they adapted their designs to utilize the standard components. When this
happened the industrial revolution was off and running. Ultimately, we the consumer
benefited because goods were now affordable, reliable and productive.
The information technology (IT) industry has lagged behind in the use of
componentware. The hardware vendors were the first to use this approach with their
manufacturing process and use of integrated circuits. Moreover, they have gone
another level further by adopting standard interfaces that allow components to
integrate/interoperate together to build a “system”. For example, any brand or size of
disk drive will work on a personal computer. Because of the standard disk drive
interface definition, there is wide open competition and now you can get a 4GB disk for
$400 that ten years ago would have cost more than 100 times that price.
Another major benefit of components and standard interfaces is the ability to take
advantage of products that were not available or even invented when the initial product
was purchased. For example, if you bought a stereo amplifier in 1975 it would run the
turntable and cassette player. Now that same amplifier can run a CD player, which was
not available until the early 80’s. The investment in an amplifier was “future proofed”.
The consumer was not required to throw out the old amplifier in order to use the new
technology. Future proofing is made possible by the use of standard interfaces that
define how components will talk to one another.
The software industry is in the process of adopting the component model. The driving
force is the market demand for integration, usability, cost and performance. The
software industry can only meet these requirements by leveraging and reusing
componentware. Object enabling technology, object programming, distributed
computing platforms, and open standard interfaces are all enabling the process. The
GIS community is following the componentware adoption in the IT industry. And, it will
bring GIS into the mainstream of information technology.
Monolithic GIS Architecture
Traditional GIS vendors have had to build and maintain a host of technology enabling
Iayers in order to provide their customers with a cost justified geographic solution. The
enabling layers include the operating systems, display drivers, proprietary development
tools, object models, database access, and user interface tools. This monolithic
165.architecture utilized the accepted IT methodology at the time and produced many highly
productive GIS products.
Figure 1. Monolithic GIS Architecture
