PROSPECTS OF GIS APPROACHING THE 21 CENTURY

Abstract

Reviewing the GIS development in the fields of software, hardware, data sources and applications since the beginning of this decade one can face enormous changes even in the trends stated five years ago, To cope with this sophisticated system on the one hand. some of its elements, on the other hand, the interaction of applications and GIS functionality should be analysed in detail. By this analysis we should consider such intrinsic developments in the GIS software concept as object orientation, hybridisation of data model, intelligent databases, virtual reality, etc. At the same time we can observe typical changes in the application field, too. The inventory systems are near to be merged into the general information system of the enterprise, the systems for modelling and engineering design need complementary non-linear tools for the proper, high quality solution. Thus, the idea of a general GIS software is no more acceptable, In the future we should use at least three types of open systems. The base system should be a common data base management system for both the spatial and attributive data with truncated GIS functionality plus an inference machine and a frame for a rule base, The systems for planning should play the role of an I/O device for the processing program supplying it with data and rules. The systems for resource management, environmental modelling and protection will be the very similar to the present general GIS systems, but they should be changed, too, in sense of dimensional extension of the data model and should include the scalar and vector field processing capability into its resources, The largest change will occur in the place of GIS in the information society. This will be due to the plenty of standardised spatial data, The first steps in this direction were made by the USA government announcing the policy of establishing the national spatial data infrastructure,