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CARTOGRAPHIC CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT 
Effects of computer-assisted methods and techniques 
Cartography classes all over the world are changing very fast, as the amount of manual 
drafting and engraving and lettering is diminishing quickly, and - instead - much of the 
practical exercises are done now on personal computers or terminals, working on . 
MSDOS or Macintosh. Students start with simple drawing packages, like MacDraw or 
MacPaint, proceed with specific cartographic software for PCs, like Atlas »Graphics, 
Maplnfo, Atlas*GIS, Cart/o/Graphix, and might continue with mini-computer based 
packages like GIMMS or ARC/INFO, or the CAD-systems provided by Intergraph or 
Siemens. 
In the introductory courses in image analysis, which used to be called photo 
interpretation, stereoscopes are being exchanged for PC’s. Demonstration programmes 
based on HyperCard,like GIST, are used by the students in order to get familiar with the 
consequences and results of the various filtering and image-enhancement techniques. 
The time-consuming instruction in projections can be dropped, as plotter programmes 
and world databases are available, which enable students to produce base maps with the 
desired properties, scale, projection center and orientation, within minutes. 
In map reproduction the impact of digital procedures is shattering, as the whole colour 
separation process is seeing revolutionary changes. Soon the days of the lithographer, of 
stripping films and of positive or negative photographic procedures will be gone. Much 
of our current knowledge on map reproduction will soon be as useful as that on copper 
engraving or the processing of limestone for printing plates. Instead, new procedures 
have to be taught, incorporating the use of scanners, we have to learn students to relate 
additive and subtractive colour schemes to each other, as we move from colour maps 
built-up on the screen to printing plates or to ink-jet plotters. 
Map Design 
We have introduced the computer to our map-design classes because of the infinite 
possibilities for graphical experimenting that are thus provided, without the waste of 
time and material, that used to accompany the design process. Within a second, colour 
schemes can be changed, symbols can be substituted, scaled or changed in orientation. 
Information layers can be added or withdrawn, the scale of the map can be fitted to the 
specifications. The graphical hierarchy between the various information layers can be 
adjusted. Intermediate phases or possible solutions might be filed away before pro 
ceeding, so that they can be brought in again at will. The only way to answer the growing 
need for customized maps is to learn to design maps digitally, from existing databases. 
The goals of these new computer-assisted map design courses are: educating people, 
who already have some idea of geographical relevancy, and of spatial properties in 
general, to design maps independently with the help of digital equipment. Students 
should be trained to work out requirements in advance, based on the client’s 
specifications. They should be able to translate these specifications into design 
decisions, based on their general design knowledge and the knowledge of the 
properties, both visual and psychological, of mapping methods, and their knowledge of 
the structure of the data provided. Digital data format demands that the spatial 
relations between individual data or map elements be clearly and explicitly defined and 
unambiguously coded. Finally, they should be able to implement these design decisions.