Regions are objects "logically encapsulating data ..., local 
co-ordinate systems, ... interpolation algorithms, private 
surface representation (e.g. hexagonal tiling, or analytical 
forms), functions to service inquiries concerning this 
surface (elevation, components of f and f" at a given 
location, the isoline at a given elevation, ray tracing, etc.), 
and in some cases even hardware. They should employ 
parallelity in their co-operation ... [Mo92]. 
Realized is: the organization for regions, and creating 
separate SCOP DTM structures per region ("RDH"). 
4.2 (3D and Special) Enclaves 
These are small regions with structures not necessarily 
belonging to the terrain surface as represented on 
topographic maps. Such structures are buildings, bridges, 
but details such as roads, sport fields etc. can also be 
classified as such. Small enclaves can just be neglected in 
certain cases (e.g. in creating maps in scales too small for 
representing them). If not small enough, the often just 
abstract topographic surface must also be specified for 
enclaves. Entire city models may be considered to be 
special and atypical enclaves. 
There are no enclaves realized at this point. 
5. PROCESSING 
5.1 Interactive Mode 
The aim of this description is to give the reader an idea of 
controlling SCOP under XX. This is a pre-alpha version, so 
any detail can change; the general idea remains proper, 
however. 
Fig. 1 shows a screen with the main window SCOP DTM, 
and two subWindows: ISO parameters, and Slope. On the 
left side of the main window, a series of stateSwitches is 
there to control Data, Views, and SURFACES. Clicking at 
the stateSwitch 'iso' with the right mouse button will open 
the subWindow for setting up parameters. There, interval 
and/or levels can be specified. A left click at the button 
'Update' will result in taking over the values specified. It 
does not result in displaying isolines on the screen. 
To display contourlines (isolines), the state of the switch 
has to be raised. This is done by left-clicking the 
stateSwitch, and hitting the right arrow or carriage return 
on the keyboard. The small bar on the stateSwitch will light 
up and blink in yellow - the blinking indicating the process 
running. The iso agent will be sent a message, it will 
request the contour lines at the agent for algorithm tiling. It 
then will initiate the interpolation for all regions within the 
area of interest (the area represented on the screen), then 
it will start SCOP.ISO to interpolate the contour lines. 
When all this is done, the iso agent will send the (address 
of the) interface object with the contours to GX. GX will 
display the contours. Finally, the iso agent will send a 
ready message to UX; the stateSwitch iso will sease 
blinking, the yellow light remains to indicate the state 
‘displayed’ for isolines. 
On the right side of the SCOP DTM window there are 
different buttons. 'What if should serve to create one or 
more copies of the DTM so to experiment and to compare 
results. Explore, when 'opened', will present different 
means for "surface analysis and exploration”, including, 
e.g., SCOP.SLOPE. Applying the latter will create a slope 
model; when created, it will appear on the left side under 
SURFACES (stateSwitch ’Slope’, when opened, the 
vertical window on the right side appears, showing for this 
model the same stateSwitches seen on the left side of the 
main window). 
The button ’Map’ under WINDOWS" will open a graphics 
window for editing output graphics. 
Placing the mouse pointer over any symbol will display a 
short help string in the help bar along the lower edge of 
the corresponding window. F1 will yield detailed help. 
For expert users, there is also a commandLine available. 
It controls all levels (main and subWindows) of processing. 
With commands as suited for it, command procedures can 
be written. 
5.2 Compatibility 
This coming version of SCOP integrates the modules of 
the most recent SCOP version as server components. 
They are capable of running in exactly the same 
"traditional" ways users of SCOP are accustomed to. 
6. CONCLUSION 
The main improvements in this presented version of SCOP 
are its openness toward future development and toward 
integration. Only in the second line would we mention the 
great improvement in processing control, and the 
introduction of regions. 
At least half of the tasks formulated in [M092] remain 
open. There is much work underway. Closer to become 
applicable are: 
- line networking (break lines, region limits) 
- true 3D surface interpolation and representation 
- intelligent overlapping/mixing of related views 
- raster tools (a related reference: [Ri92]) 
REFERENCES 
[Co95] Cotter, S. Inside Taligent Technology. Addison- 
Wesley, 1995. ISBN 0-201-40970-4. 
[Ho96] Hochstóger, F. Software for Managing Country- 
Wide Digital Elevation Data. International Archives of 
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Commission IV, 
Vienna, 1996. 
[Lo91] Loitsch, H., Molnar, L. A Relational Database 
Management System with Topological Elements and 
Topological Operators. Proceedings Spatial Data 2000, 
Dept. of Photogrammetry and Surveying, University 
College London. 
[M092] Molnar, L. Principles For a New Edition of the 
Digital Elevation Modeling System SCOP. In: International 
Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 
Commission IV, Washington, D.C., 1992. 
[Ri92] Rieger, W., Automated River Line and Catchment 
Area Extraction from DTM Data. Presented paper, ISPRS 
Congress, Washington, D.C., 1992. 
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