Object-oriented data modelling for spatial databases

Data modelling is a critical stage of database design. Recent research has focused upon object-oriented data modes, which appear more appropriate for certain applications than either the traditional relational model or the entity-relationship approach. The object-oriented approach has proved to be especially fruitful in application areas, such as the design of geographical information systems which have a richly structured knowledge domain and are associated with multimedia databases. This article discusses the key concept in object-oriented modelling and demonstrates the applicability of an object-oriented design methodology to the design of geographical information systems. In order to show more clearly how this methodology may be applied, the paper considers the specific object-oriented data model.