GIS Fundamentals, 2nd Edition

Chapter 3

Vector Data Structures

In Chapter 2, we saw that the nature of spatial data means that it is difficult to store vector data in a database. In the days when GIS was first being developed, programmers were therefore forced to develop their own ways of storing and processing vector data. A common solution was to separate the attribute data as this could be handled using a standard database. This was not a universal solution by any means, but for the time being, we will concentrate on what was done to store the locational data for points, lines and areas.

3.1 Simple Storage of Vector Data

There is nothing intrinsically complicated about the locational element of vector data. If we return to our simple topographic map, we can see examples ...