White Papers
Abstract
The current trend of simulation database generation
system (DBGS) tools is toward the use of more commercial off the shelf
(COTS) technology as the foundation of the complete toolset. DBGS tools that
support larger database requirements are leveraging COTS geographical
information systems (GIS) that provide a solid technology foundation for
DBGS development and utilization.
The use of GIS tools as the core of a DBGS is a natural
progression towards reducing development costs and maintenance costs and
increasing productivity. If one looks at the classical DBGS tools that were
developed in the 1980s and 1990s, the similarities with today's DBGS tools
become apparent.
Earlier tools, just like GIS systems, had to deal with
real world geographical data and support varying levels of data attribution.
This is the fundamental basis of a GIS system: providing a way to store
geographic data with attribution describing that data.
The most significant historical differences between the
data that the typical GIS tool traditionally supports and the data required
by the simulation are the storage of three-dimensional data components and
the richness of attribution data required. Cutting-edge GIS tools have
outgrown the 2D heritage and have become viable 3D data storage and
manipulation environments that, with the aid of faster processing power
computers allow massive amounts of simulation data to be automatically
generated including simulation specific data sets such a texture mapping and
the like.
This paper will go over the basic technology that is
part of a GIS, which is or can be leveraged by DBGS tools to create accurate
and robust databases.
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