The research agenda for topology and spatial databases

Recent advances in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have led to an increased requirement for analysis functionality, moving mainstream GIS usage away from core data capture, maintenance and map production tools and into the decision support arena. The increased use of centralised storage of data using commercial databases has also influenced this change. A key component of analytical capabilities is topology – this provides functionality to determine adjacency, connectivity and containment, as well as allowing enhanced data management (McDonnell & Kemp, 1996). However, as the Topology and Spatial Databases Workshop (held in Glasgow in April 2005) illustrated, the significance of the word topology is much broader, and the range of research covered under this umbrella is much wider than this brief description suggests. The aim of the workshop was to define the research agenda for topology, with an emphasis on emerging themes such as manipulation of topology in SQL-based databases, handling of 3D topology and new theoretical frameworks. It brought together researchers from both industry and academia, based in Europe, the UK and the United States, and identified a range of topics and issues. These can be grouped under the following broad headings: