GHANA SCHOOL OF

SURVEYING AND MAPPING

LEVEL 200
PRINCIPLES OF GIS/LIS
Geospatial Data
Computer representations
Spatial data
models

Raster data model Vector data model

Raster Vector
Field-based Object-based

Regular Irregular Topological Unstructured

Tessellation Tessellation (spaghetti)
structured
Vector-based models
Spatial data
models

Raster Vector
Field-based Object-based

Regular Irregular Topological Unstructured

Tessellation Tessellation structured (spaghetti)
 Vector Data Model
In Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the
vector data model is one of the two primary
methods used to represent and store geospatial
data. The vector data model represents
geographic features using points, lines, and
polygons.
 Attributes:
Vector data includes attribute tables that store
non-spatial information about the features.
These attributes provide additional details about
the geographic entities represented by the points,
lines, and polygons. For example, a point
representing a city might have attributes such as
name, population, and elevation.
Real World and Vector Model
Computer representations

Raster data model Vector data model

Computer representations
Vector data model y y y code

code

code

x x x
Point Line Area
Raster data model

Row

Row
Row

Column Column Column

Key for the vector models: intemediate point
node
Vector-based models
• Vector representation:
• Explicitly associate coordinate pairs with the
geographic phenomena
• 1 coordinate pair makes a vector
• Types of vectors:
• Points
• Lines/Arc
• Areas/Polygon
• TIN’s
Representation of Areas/Polygons

Unstructured
spaghetti

Structured
topology
Topology models for areas
Spatial data
models

Raster Vector
Field-based Object-based

Topological Unstructured
Regular Irregular structured (spaghetti)
Tessellation Tessellation

Cleaned Not cleaned

Representation of areas
Not cleaned Cleaned

Unstructured
spaghetti

Topological
structured
Topology models for areas
Spatial data
models

Raster Vector
Field-based Object-based

Topological Unstructured
Regular Irregular structured (spaghetti)
Tessellation Tessellation

Boundary Polygon
Model Model
Polygon model

Polygon-by-Polygon

Feature coordinates
polygon 1 x1,y1, x2,y2, ..,.. xn,yn
polygon 2 x1,y1, x2,y2, ..,.. xm,ym
Polygon model

A
C

ID Area Landuse Accessible

A 16.5 Forest No
B 18.3 Heath Yes
C 19.7 Built-up Yes
Polygon model

Disadvantages:
• Data redundancy (duplication of boundaries)
• Spatial analysis (e.g. find neighbor polygons) is rather
complicated and time-consuming
Boundary model
Nodes

Arc-by-Arc

Feature coordinates
Arc 1 x1,y1, x2,y2, ..,..
Arc 2 x1,y1, x2,y2, ..,..
Arc 3 x1,y1, x2,y2, ..,..
Boundary model
a1
U
1 A
a2

2
a3
B

Feature from to left right coordinates

Arc 1 1 2 U A x1,y1, x2,y2, ..,..
Arc 2 1 2 A B x1,y1, x2,y2, ..,..
Arc 3 2 1 U B x1,y1, x2,y2, ..,..
Boundary model
ID X-coord Y-coord
1 1 … …
2 … …
3 … ..
b2
B 4 … …

2
b1 A
C
4

Line From To Left Right

b1 4 1 W A
b2 1 2 B A
b3 1 3 W B
b4 2 4 C A
Vector-based models
Advantage:
• Efficient representation of topology
• Adapts well to scale changes
• Allows representing networks
• Allows easy association with attribute data

Disadvantage:
• Complex data structure
• Overlay more difficult to implement
• Inefficient for image processing
• More update-intensive
Raster-based models
Spatial data
models

Raster Vector
Field-based Object-based

Regular Irregular Topological Unstructured

Tessellation Tessellation structured (spaghetti)
 Raster Models
In Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the
ra ste r m o d e l i s a d ata st r u ct u re u se d to
represent and store spatial information in the
form of a grid or matrix of cells. It is a common
data model for storing and analyzing continuous
data, such as satellite imagery, elevation data, or
land cover information.
Computer representations

Raster data model Vector data model

Raster Models

The raster data model consists of rows and

columns of equally sized pixels interconnected
to form a planar surface. These pixels are
used as building blocks for creating points,
lines, areas, networks, and surfaces.
Regular Tessellation
Regular Tessellation
Irregular Tessellation (quadtree)
Size designates the resolution of the gridded surface
Raster-based models
Advantage:
• Simple data structure
• Simple implementation of overlays
• Efficient for image processing

Disadvantage:
• Less compact data structure
• Difficult to represent topology
• Cell boundaries independent of feature boundaries
 Irregular tessellations (1)
Irregular Tessellations are partitions of space into mutually distinct cells, but now the
cells may vary in size and shape, allowing them to adapt to the spatial phenomena
that they represent. Irregular tessellations are more complex than regular ones, but
they are also more adaptive, which typically leads to a reduction in the amount of
computer memory needed to store the data.

• Partition into disjoint cells with varying shape and size

• Field value assigned to a cell is associated with entire area occupied
by that cell
• Many types. E.g. region quadtree
• Based on regular tessellation of square cells, but neighbouring cells with same
value will be represented as one bigger cell
Irregular tessellations
Irregular tessellations (2)
Advantage:
• Reduction in amount of memory used to store the data
• Adaptive: more variation in values, more cells
• Quick computation of areas with same field value
Disadvantage:
• More complex computations, algorithms
Triangular Irregular Networks
Spatial data
models

Raster Vector
Field-based
TIN Object-based

Regular Irregular Topological Unstructured

Tessellation Tessellation structured (spaghetti)
Triangular Irregular Networks
TINs:
•Represent fields
•Hybrid between tessellation and vector
•Usually applied to represent topography
Triangular Irregular Networks
3 points uniquely determine a plane as long
as they are not collinear (in line)
Triangular tessellation

Delaunay triangulation
Models for elevation
Raster Data Formats
Raster data is commonly stored in specific file
formats, such as GeoTIFF, ERDAS IMG, or GRID,
which provide the necessary structure and metadata
to store and manage raster datasets. These formats
are widely supported by GIS software and can retain
both spatial and attribute information.
Advantages of Raster Model

• Simple data structure

• Continuos data representation
• A powerful format for intense statistical
and spatial analysis
• Capability to perform faster overlays
• The ability to represent continuous
surfaces and perform surface analysis.
Disadvantages of Raster Model
• Datasets can be very large.
• Difficult in representation topology
connections.
• Projection and transformation cooordinat is
not easily
• Hard to represent objects less than cell size
• Finer resolution generates huge data
Advantages and disadvanteages of R and V
 Summary
The raster model is widely used in GIS for tasks
such as spatial analysis, image processing, land
cover classification, terrain analysis, and
environmental modeling. It provides a flexible
and efficient framework for working with
continuous spatial data, allowing for various
types of analysis and visualization techniques.
 Assignment 3

1. What are the advantages and limitations of the

vector data model in GIS?
2.Explain the differences between points, lines, and
polygons in the vector data model, and provide
examples of each.