The Design and Development of Spatial Database Management Systems (SDMS) for Hydrographic Studies using Coupled Open-Source GIS and Relational Database

In this paper, we seek to design, develop, and explore a typical geo-database for hydrographic purposes through the aid of some Open-Source Geographical Information System (GIS) and relational database packages that had been confirmed and certified to be adequate for various GIS tasks. One of the recent and reliable OpenSource software in GIS analysis is gvSIG. gvSIG is a tool oriented to manage geographic information. This GIS software has been integrated with another Open-Source tool database called PostGIS which is adequate for handling spatial data. Geo-database starts from the design of the data model using the Object-Oriented Unified Modified Language (UML) taking into account the primitive data types. The complexities in setting up a geodatabase for hydrographic studies are considered. We examined some rivers, lakes, and the countries associated with these water bodies. The database will also include countries and associated regions. Various complex queries can be performed and visualized using these GIS and database tools. Conclusively, this paper demonstrated the potentials, efficiencies, and optimal benefits involved in using Open-Source tools like gvSIG and PostGIS for major GIS projects in developing countries in Africa. (