The changing face of geographic information on the web: a breakthrough in spatial data sharing
Abstract
Users of geographic information systems (GIS) often need immediate access to current data and information for proper analysis of GIS data. In the past, datasets were captured by an organisation to serve specific purposes and were mainly used by specialists within that organisation. The capturing of datasets represents substantial investments for each organisation to maintain specialised GIS databases, and results in exorbitant levels of duplication. The high cost involved in data capturing and the lack of efficient access to existing digital data stress the importance of finding alternatives to enhance GIS data sharing on a national scale. Although this need for data sharing exists, some issues limit the ability to share. However, the advent of the World Wide Web (WWW) provides a breakthrough alternative to data sharing. This paper outlines the limitations of traditional data sharing techniques and proposes a solution to data sharing via the web.
Keywords
Citation
Pienaar, M. and van Brakel, P. (1999), "The changing face of geographic information on the web: a breakthrough in spatial data sharing", The Electronic Library, Vol. 17 No. 6, pp. 365-371. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640479910329987
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited