anbul 2004 
y Society. 
A WEB-BASED APPLICATION FOR REAL-TIME GIS 
O. Ozdilek * *, D. Z. Seker? 
* [TU, Civil Engineering Faculty, 80626 Maslak Istanbul, Turkey - (ozdilek, seker)@itu.edu.tr 
KEY WORDS: Spatial Information Sciences, GIS, Internet/Web, Real-time, Data mining, Data Structures, Decision Support, Open 
Systems 
ABSTRACT: 
Weather plays a significant role in the operation of various facilities and industries in the world. Nowadays, there are many sources 
of weather data maps and tables. Naturally, there are many information systems created to manage and to manipulate weather-based 
data. The function of an information system is to improve one's ability to make decisions. An information system relates to a chain 
of operations lead to planning the observation and collection of data, to storage and analysis of data, to the use of derived 
information in decision-making processes. The creation of a GIS database almost always represents the most significant investment 
in a GIS project. Therefore, data management becomes the most important part of GIS. Various data structures and exchanging 
different types of data cause serious problems at the beginning phase of GIS. Recently, web-based GIS with the rapid expansion of 
internet and the World Wide Web is regarded as one of important issues for web application, and several GIS products running on 
web browser have been announced. The system used in this study has two main differences from other web-based GIS applications. 
It is real-time and gets data from sources simultaneously in exact time intervals that users defined previously, and secondly, all the 
developing and publishing tools used in the system are open sourced. Aim of this study is to create a web-based, free and open 
sourced GIS that can work with different data formats by exchanging and presenting data as a real-time map on web. 
1. INTRODUCTION structure and development of it cannot be derived without 
careful examination of spatial and temporal relations of weather 
Information technologies have gained importance in the data. Distinguished from the other information technologies, 
worldwide organizations due to their efficiency with low costs. GIS offers a set of functions to analyze and relate spatial data. 
Naturally, developments in computer and information systems, During converting information into GIS, analysis tools can be 
especially data management systems, directly affect GIS. Data used to solve more complex business problems. Support of real- 
management is the most important part of GIS. Various data time maintenance of geographic related data and the 
structures and exchanging different types of data cause serious distribution of updates to all relevant groups within an 
problems at the beginning phase of GIS. Although organization in timely manner is realized. This improved access 
organizations and individuals involved with GIS have to current data increases the overall effectiveness of information 
developed many different solutions, data exchange still remains users. With the right weather information delivered at the right 
as one of the main problems. However, development of time, many business leaders could make profitable decisions 
computers and data systems linked with some problems, they (Vadlapudi, 2003). Therefore, combining real-time and weather 
also have opened new perspectives of creating and managing information has very significant potential for improving 
data systems easily and economically. Furthermore, expansion weather-related decision support systems. GIS offers much 
of the computer systems and advances in internet related more than a typical “display” of weather graphics, and provides 
technologies extend GIS in a new horizon. Due to development the capability of combining the weather data itself with 
of the internet technologies; collecting data, delivering virtually any other geographically based information, and make 
materials (maps), manipulating and updating data becomes it possible to calculate meaningful value-added results 
easier. The recent technologies provide lots of tools for spatial (Sznaider, 2004). 
technologies and data modelling. 
1.1 Objectives of the Study 
As weather is the statement of the physical conditions at an 
instant, forecasting is of concern to one and all living bodies The objective of this study is to create a weather processing 
over the earth. As such, time immemorial weather forecasting system by integrating weather data with different structures 
is a subject of great concern for the physical scientists collected from different sources in various formats, in a web- 
(Saseendran, 2003). Most of the organizations like based real-time GIS. 
transportation, agriculture, water and emergency management 
need specific weather requirements. Various methods were The detailed objectives are: 
developed and used by scientists to observe, and monitor 
weather-related information. Development of information e Integration of weather data in a GIS, 
systems, especially GIS, bring out new solutions for managing e Creating a web-based system, 
and monitoring wéather-related data. Monitoring weather e Creating a real-time system, 
conditions within a GIS is now relatively an easy task. The use e Creating an open-sourced system, 
of GIS technology is necessary because information about the 
  
* Corresponding author. 
75