Agenda - Council - 05/24/1988 - Laserfiche WebLink

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purer-aided drafting (CA.D) system. Designed specifically to produc~ maps, the mapping system m~t h~ capable of accepting input from mul- tiple coordinate syste ,ms such as state plane coordinates, latitude, and lon- gitude. What really separates the GIS from a CAD system is it~ ability to ad- dress and process data with respeci to geographic Iooation. Spatial data. for example, can b~ entered in one coordinate system of the mapping module and analyzed or displayed in another. A CAD system, while allowing for entry of some ground coordinates, does not support the complex transformation mathe- matics required to operate within the database. Edge mappmg and creating a "~amle~,-~" rr~p are cnOcal features of the GIS mapping system since maN are ~ldom s~d-~one en~es. ~er. ~ey ~e ~mplex ~ye~ of dawmp and ~omi0on ~at m~t ~ conn~d to o~er shee~. Not o~y h it n~' for ~e ~ges ~ ma~h, but ~e mapping system must have · e mtelhgen~ ~ r~raw a~uralely ma~ that span m~ny ~ges. Th~ me~ ~e system m~t "~' ~yond · e ~ge of ~e map ~t ~ cu~enfly creatmg to the reformation ~o be drawn on ~e next sh~t. AI'~I times, the mapping system musl know where ~t ~. chit~ural drawm~ ~d even ~e d~ sign of printed eL-em t bo~rd~, but they cannot support mapping adequately because theL,' drawings are entered m single sheets. Datab~.~e Interface To be most effective, by reducing the expense of data entry, a should interface with other existing city databases. To do this, the maim- ping system should be able to locate and re'wleve, then process for map creation, data residing in non- mapping computer fides. For exam- ple, data entered into an IBM System 3~ or System ~8 mamframe computer by the accounting, tax, or public WOFk.% deplL'~.merlL5, or even the nieipal courts, need be input only once. That information becomes available as needed by the gcc- processing system. Depending on the city's needs, data can remain in the accounting and £manciaJ datahases a.nd the mapping system can access it only when needed, or ~ ~o~afion e~ ~ downloaded directly to GtS. Creation of ~e ~ap~c damage Wolves di~t~mg exa~g cip- ufility maps. Once ~put, ~o~afion, ~.~ap~c ~d non-~ap~e, m~t ~ merged into one eomprehe~ive datable. A complete GIS da~base ~i ~ com~sed of m~icim~ maps ~d L~o~ation secured f~om such pem".j~, municipaJ com--,.s.a.'~d police i.rffor~afion, to n~"ne a few. To make maxknum use o." the in- forma~on, the mappL'~.g system must be able to aeeems the city flies easiJy amd rapidly. Conversely, for all ct,')' depm'~,ments to gain the benefits of the mapping capabiH~., the G!S m,umt be available to them tkrough file w-~-afer. A Geographic Info..-mation System cmn be ~ tremendo'as p.-oductix'ity too] to ma.ny city deparL,men~ if its de- velopment and use are carefully thought out and irnplememed. Thg system becomes extremely cos: effe:- five by saving ma,'-~hom% mhd com- puter Ii.me in ',.he compiiL'~g and proc- essi.ng of data and then cl.-awing Cae maps. When the ir~tia] cost of ~e sys- tem is amor-Cized over a variety of city departments, the expense can be compared to many s~nd-a]one CAD systems. However. the difference is that a CAD system is desk,'ned to create drawings while a GIS mapping system has the capability to address and mm'~ipulate data with respect to its geog'r, aphie location. Advamcemen~ in hardware and softwa.,-e wil~ continue to make the mapping systems more cost effective ~.s the expense of equipment and pro- grams goes down. However, man}. growing communities are seeing the advantages of stab, lng to build a GIS capability. 'I-ney simply cm'-mot afford to falJ further behind.