A CORBA-based Middleware Architecture for Building Open and Interoperable GISs

The volume and number of datasets about our earth are growing at an ever-increasing rate. However, sharing and integration of these datasets by different Geographic Information Systems (GISs) have been difficult due to incompatible data formats, hardware and software platforms. There is a need for developing an industry standard architecture for developing GISs that supports geodata sharing, integration, and geoprocessing interoperability. We propose an abstract model for information sharing and integration, and then use it as a framework to develop an architecture for building open and interoperable GISs. The middleware components of the architecture conform to such industry standards as CORBA and OpenGIS specifications. The open and objectoriented nature of the architecture enables developers create client applications that interact with CORBA objects without awareness of the application platforms, data models and structures involved in the implementation of the objects. End-users access geospatial data and geoprocessing functionality through web browsers or customized client applications in a single, integrated, and virtual system. Implementations of middleware CORBA interfaces involve Enterprise Java Beans (EJBs), Database Management Systems (DBMSs) and heterogeneous GIS vendor applications. A prototype implementation of the architecture using real-world GIS datasets shows its feasibility and validity.