5.0 Conclusion
This paper has described a new spatial browser and
has presented its functionalities. The MetaView/
GIS directory service provides a flexible GUI for
querying Geographical Information Databases by
users and for updates by database vendors. Unlike
other directory services, a user of MetaView/GIS
can query the databases within a constraint region
by manipulation of the visual map display.
Planned enhancement to the current implementa-
tion include:
1. extension of MetaView/GIS database to include
free text data and to include function for han-
dling document retrieval.
2. use of third party software to expand the capa-
bility of the server. This will see MetaView/GIS
tolerating other database other than what is cur-
rently supported under relational DBMS.
3. use of third party software to convert our
present help facility to hypertext based.
4. porting of various routines to non-GUI, to
enable other systems without X terminals to
access MetaView/GIS databases.
5. the implementation of a client to run under Win-
dowNT and Windows.
Acknowledgment
Our sincere thanks goes to Ekow Otoo and the
team members of both the DeltaX and MetaView/
GIS projects. We will also like to thank the GIS
Division of Natural Resources Canada for their
support for these projects.
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