Modeling part-whole relationships for spatial data

ABSTRACT

Spatial applications must manage partwhole (PW) relationships between spatial objects, for example, the division of an administrative region into zones based on land use. Support for conceptual modeling of relationships between parts and whole, such as aggregation and membership, has been well researched in the object oriented (OO) community; however, spatial data has generally not been considered. We propose here a practical approach to integrating support for spatial PW relationships into conceptual modeling languages. Three different types of relationships—spatial part, spatial membership, and spatial inclusion—that are of general utility in spatial applications are identified and formally defined using a consistent classification framework based on spatial derivation and constraint relationships. An extension of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) for spatiotemporal data, namely Extended Spatiotemporal UML, is used to demonstrate the feasibility of using such an approach to define modeling constructs supporting spatial PW relationships.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.2 DATABASE MANAGEMENT
      H.2.8 Database applications
          Subjects: Spatial databases and GIS

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.2 DATABASE MANAGEMENT
      H.2.1 Logical Design
          Subjects: Data models

General Terms:
Design, Management, Performance, Theory

Keywords:
conceptual data modeling, spatial part whole relationships