Slide 12 of 52
Notes:
The fact that an OO GIS can hold behaviours as well as attributes and structures has a profound effect on data management, and indeed on data collection and conversion. The database becomes in effect an active database, incorporating in a generic manner much of the functionality that would otherwise have to be supplied at the application level. Applications can thus be 'thinner' and more generic.
The active database can be used to hold the rule base appropriate to a particular activity, as well as to hold the formal data model. The database schema defines the data model and can also hold relevant business rules and data integrity procedures. The use of 'inheritance' to provide controlled sharing of structure and behaviour in a hierarchical manner is a powerful technique for managing data and for the creation and maintenance of databases.
http://www.bigfoot.com/~Philip.Sargent/papers/
