Integration of cartographic knowledge with generalization algorithms

For the automation of the map generalization process, it is necessary to integrate cartographers’ experience with the generalization operations within Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This paper provides a brief discussion on Expert System (ES) and its application in GIS with a particular emphasis on automation of map generalization. The discussion concludes with the fact that, although solving automated generalization problems could greatly benefit from such a combination of technologies, there have been no attempts to combine ES, GIS, and cartographers’ experience for a comprehensive evaluation of generalization systems and their performance. This will pave the way for developing an expert system that will help cartographers in choosing the appropriate techniques for map and database generalization tasks such as feature displacement.