Database, Spatial

Spatial databases are the foundation for computer-based applications involving spatially referenced data (i.e., data related to phenomena that have a position and possibly a shape, orientation, and size). Spatial databases can be implemented using various technologies, the most common now being the relational technology. They can have various structures and architectures according to their intended purposes. There are two categories of spatial databases: transactional and analytical. Transactional spatial databases are the most frequent ones; they are often used by geographic information systems (GIS) to facilitate the collection, storage, integrity checking, manipulation, and display of the characteristics of spatial phenomena. Analytical databases are more recent; their roots are in the world of statistical analysis, and they are central to business intelligence (BI) applications. Typical examples include ...