Spatial database transfer standards 2 : characteristics for assessing standards and full descriptions of the national and international standards in the world : the ICA Commission on Standards for the Transfer of Spatial Data, December, 1996

This book represents five and a half years of work by the ICA Commission on Standards for the Transfer of Spatial Data during the 1991- 95 ICA cycle. The effort began with the Commission working to develop a set of scientific characteristics by which every kind of spatial data transfer standard could be understood and assessed. This implies that every facet of the transfer process must be understood so that the scientific characteristics could be most efficiently specified. The members of the Commission spent hours looking at their own standard and many others, to ascertain how to specify most effectively the characteristic or subcharacteristic in question. The result is a set of internationally agreed scientific characteristics with 13 broad primary level classes of characteristics, 85 secondary characteristics, and about 220 tertiary characteristics that recognizes almost every possible capability that a spatial data transfer standard might have. It is recognized that no one standard possesses all of these characteristics, but contains a subset of these characteristics. However, these characteristics have been specified in such a way to facilitate understanding of individual standards, and use by interested parties of making comparisons for their own purposes. Although individual applications of a standard may be for different purposes, this set of characteristics provides a uniform measure by which the various standards may be assessed. The book presents an Introduction and four general chapters that describe the spatial data transfer standards activities happening in Europe, North America, Asia/Pacific, and the ISO community. This provides the context so the reader can more easily understand the scientific and technical framework from which a particular standard has come. The third section is a complete listing of all of the three levels of characteristics and their meaning by the inclusion of a set of definitions for terms used in the book. The fourth section, and by far the largest, contains 22 chapters that assess each of the major national and international spatial data transfer standards in the world in terms of all three levels of characteristics. Each assessment has been done by a Commission member who has been an active participant in the development of the standard being assessed in the native language of that standard. A cross-table chart is also provided. Content: Presidential foreword , Pages ix-x , D.R.F. Taylor Preface , Pages xi-xii , Harold Moellering, Richard Hogan An introduction to world database transfer standards , Pages 3-13 , Harold Moellering Standardization in the field of geographic information: The European efforts , Pages 17-30 , François Salgé Spatial data transfer standards activities in North America , Pages 31-38 , Richard Hogan, Mark Sondheim Developing a geographic data infrastructure: An Asia-Pacific perspective , Pages 39-50 , Drew Clarke ISO standardization in the field of geographic information: The global perspective , Pages 51-60 , Olaf Østensen Technical characteristics for assessing standards for the transfer of spatial data , Pages 63-73 , Harold Moellering, Kathryn Clement - Australia—Spatial Data Transfer Standard Australia , Pages 77-85 - Austrian Interface for Digital Exchange of Geographic Data (ÖNORM A 2260) Austria , Pages 87-94 - Spatial Archive and Interchange Format (SAIF) Canada , Pages 95-112 - Data Exchange Format for Surveying and Mapping Information (DEFS) Peoplés Republic of China , Pages 113-121 - EDI Based Geographic Information Service (JHS 111–119) Finland , Pages 123-136 - Traitement de I'Information Géographique Numérique: Echange de Données Informatisé dans le Domaine de lÍnformation Géographique (EDIGéO) France , Pages 137-155 - Einheitliche Datenbankschnittstelle (EDBS) für die Automatisierte Liegenschaftskarte (ALK) und das Amtliche Topographisch-Kartographische Informationssystem (ATKIS) (ALK/ATKIS-EDBS) Germany , Pages 157-169 - Israel Exchange Format 1991 (IEF '91) Israel , Pages 171-177 - Standard Procedure and Data Format for Digital Mapping (SPDFDM) Japan , Pages 179-186 - Automated Data Processing—Interchange Format for Data of Objects Related to the Earth's Surface (NEN 1878) The Netherlands , Pages 187-199 - Coordinated Approach to Spatial Information (SOSI) Norway , Pages 201-211 - Digital and Electronic Maps Transfer Standard (DEMTS) Russian Federation , Pages 213-223 - National Standard for the Exchange of Digital Geo-Referenced Information (NES) South Africa , Pages 225-235 - Norma de Intercambio de Cartografía Catastral (NICCa) Spain , Pages 237-246 - INTERLIS Switzerland , Pages 247-258 - Electronic Transfer of Geographic Information (NTF) United Kingdom , Pages 259-269 - Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) United States of America , Pages 271-287 - European Territorial Data Base (ETDB) Comité Européen des Responsables de la Cartographie Officielle , Pages 289-298 - Full Description of the CEN/TC 287 Family of Standards (CEN/TC287) Comité Européen de Normalisation Comité Technique 287 Secretariat , Pages 299-311 - Geographic Data File CEN TC 278 WG 7 , Pages 313-329 - Digital Geographic Information Exchange Standard (DIGEST) Digital Geographic Information Working Group , Pages 331-354 - IHO Transfer Standard for Digital Hydrographic Data (S-57) International Hydrographic Organization , Pages 355-368 Index , Pages 369-373 In conclusion, considering the whole volume, this is a good book to read after becoming experienced in use of geographic information systems. The book will be useful to anyone attempting to understand the recent history and basis of spatial database transfer standards in the world. Libraries should have this book, as it is a good reference describing the highly complex universe of spatial database transfer standards and geographic information systems. Diego Perugini, Università degli Studi di Perugea, Italy, Computers & Geosciences , 1998 For the last several decades, digital spatial databases have come to replace conventional analog data sources in the spatial sciences.