Storage and Visualization of Spatial Data in a High-Performance Semantic Database System.

Abstract : We are developing a prototype massively parallel database management system with applications to earth sciences. Our system will enable the highly efficient accumulation and retrieval of vast amount of general, scientific, and spatial data, utilizing a Semantic/object oriented approach to database management. One type of data in this system is a generalized spatial function - a function from a Cartesian product of several continuous and/or discrete domains into a Cartesian product of continuous domains and/or discrete domains and/or sets of semantic facts. This paper addresses issues of database storage of such functions, their querying, and visual presentation of results as multi-dimensional objects, particularly superimposition of two spatial functions in a 3-D display.