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Submitted to 
Information 
GIS FOR THE NEXT CENTURY 
Ales Limpouch 
Help Service Mapping Ltd. 
Brdickova 1916, 155 00 Praha 5 
Czech Republic 
limpouch@cs.felk.cvut.cz 
Commission III, Working Group IV 
KEY WORDS: GIS, Software, Design, Model, Future Information Systems, Object-Oriented Data Organiza- 
tion, Hypermap Multimedia Environment 
ABSTRACT 
Computers have introduced geographic information systems (GIS) and digital map production in remote-sensing 
and photogrammetry. Modern GIS systems should not give only digital forms of maps, but they should provide 
powerful information systems for retrieval and analyses of spatial data. In this paper, we would like to show the 
impact of current modern computer technologies, such as object-oriented design, computer networks, object- 
oriented database management systems and multimedia on future GIS systems and outline our view of advanced 
GIS systems for the 21st century. 
1 Main features of future GIS 
Traditional common GIS systems support usually 
wide range of functionality for the manipulation of 
vector and raster data as well as for analyses of de- 
scriptive information attached to data in databases. 
This functionality provides only common procedures 
for data manipulation, access and analyses, which are 
necessary for users to achieve their goals. Functional 
orientation of traditional systems provide users with 
limited support for task-oriented technologies. This 
is the main reason for the common consideration that 
GIS is specific professional tool which is hard to use. 
Future GIS system should provide users with func- 
tionality for processing georeferenced information in 
user-oriented manner. Information should be accessed 
in easy-to-use framework which enable users to navi- 
gate within increasing amount of information and to 
find answers to their questions. Open user-oriented 
GIS systems should help users with management and 
control of the society and environment in the future. 
At present, we can see the first efforts to shift the 
view of GIS systems from traditional common sys- 
tems to user-oriented information systems. Modern 
GIS systems should address user needs more clearly 
and provide tools for easier adoption of extensions to 
achieve user goals. Future GIS systems should also 
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B3. Vienna 1996 
support new methods of data organization and data 
access which enable users to maintain their data in 
the same way independently of their graphical repre- 
sentation and location in computer networks. 
2 Structure of future GIS systems 
Sophisticated GIS systems will provide an open 
object-oriented environment for the development of 
particular GIS applications and information system 
for geographical data processing within distributed 
heterogeneous computer networks. New object- 
oriented data organization will enable users to access 
their data in more user-oriented way. Advanced GIS 
systems will allow to combine vector and raster data 
and handle these data in combined analyses. A quite 
new kind of user interface will make full use of the 
object-oriented system features truly possible. Pow- 
erful visual programming languages will give users the 
possibility to adjust the system to their needs. 
Open object-oriented environment based on client- 
server architecture can be treated as construction kit 
which will facilitate the development of customized 
user-oriented GIS applications. GIS server will pro- 
vide basic functionality for data access and handling 
and special modules will add more sophisticated func- 
tionality for data transformation, processing, man- 
459