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A Tool to Query GIS

Based on Figurative Approach
1 2
Fatiha Meddah. Guerroudji, Hafida. Belbachir, 3Robert.Laurini

1,2
Laboratoire LSSD, USTOMB Oran, Algeria
3
LIRIS LABORAORY INSA LYON 69621 – VILLEURBANNE CEDEX – FRANCE

Abstract— The querying is one of the most important activities in a GIS as a support for decision making and problem
solving. However, traditional SQL-like database query languages are inappropriate for GIS applications. GIS users are generally
non-computer scientists. It thus appears that a particular interest must be taken to the interfaces and the effectiveness of the means
of querying offered to the GIS user. In this area this paper presents the spatial query tool prototype for GIS with strong visual
context. We first present a brief state of the art of languages dedicated to GIS and then formally define our visual tool.

Index Terms— geographic information system, visual interface, query language,

1. INTRODUCTION
The first approach directly uses the principles of

G
eographic information system (GIS)
computer-based system that is able to store, manage,
analyse and visualise a great deal of geographic
information.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are
raising growing interest for their ability to perform
complex analysis tasks, and provide decision
making support. These abilities make GIS valuable
to a wide range of public and private enterprises for
mapping and analysing objects, explaining events,
predicting outcomes and planning strategies.
During the last decades, computer science
researchers have devoted much effort to enhance the
usability of GIS, so as to allow domain experts to
learn the use of those systems and fully exploit their
functionality.
In this context, several languages have been
proposed aimed at assisting unskilled users to query
GIS based on various approaches that are rapidly
examined.
algebra and geometry. Works of Tomlin [14] [15]
is a based on the cartographic algebra are most known.
One second approach is based on the use of
formal languages often issued from standard SQL,
with Egenhofer’s works [3] on the extensions of the
SQL, PSQL [11], SQL3 [12] and many other
alternatives. In this approach, one extracts
information from the system by using a built query.
This approach is by nature not adapted to naive
users (not mastering data-processing tools) because
it requires often hard training.
A third approach still in research in the GIS
community is where the access to geographic
information is done by the exclusive use of the
natural language. This approach turns around the
natural language in the context of the spatial
expression, strongly supported by research in
cognition, language and data processing.
However, the suitable phenomena for the natural
language (paraphrase, inference, etc) are very
difficult to master from the point of view of
understanding.
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This approach currently turns against the

problems arising generally from the processing
having for objective the understanding of the natural
language. Indeed, the formulation of the queries can
prove to be long (a drawing is worth thousand
words). Textual queries are still difficult to interpret
though recent solutions are proposed in [10].
Thematic
Spatial Geographic
The fourth approach is described as figurative. referenc
isystems
features
The interfaces based on this approach often offer
some visual means (icons, diagram, and drawing) in
Temporal
order to express required information.
A first family of this approach offers a relative
freedom to the user to draw his spatial
configurations. Spatial-Query-By-sketch [4] [5] and Fig.1. Geographic data consist of geographic features and a
set of observations related to certain reference systems [6].
the language Sketch! [9] are examples of this
approach.
In addition, each observed geographic feature
The second family of this approach represented
can be described by: its geometrical shape (the form,
by Cigales [2] and LVIS [1], offers a set of icons
the position), the topological relations which it
which represent the geographic features and the
maintains with other entities, its semantic attributes
spatial relations (inclusion, intersection, and
(textual, qualitative, quantitative information on an
adjacency) that one can combine to build a query.
feature with the exception of the geometric and
In this context, the paragraphs which follow in
topological aspects).
this article describe our tool prototype named
ENVIS for querying GIS based on figurative
approach. 3. FIGURATIVE APPROACH FOR QUERYING GIS

2. BASIC DEFINITION ON GEOGRAPHIC The figurative approach was recommended in our

INFORMATION study to solve our problems of GIS querying.
Geographic information is visual information by
essence, moreover visual languages based on the
Many authors gave multiple definitions and
metaphor of the blackboard using the combination
descriptions of geographic information.
of icons are friendly and simple of use; their query
The concept of geographic information adopted
mode is simple and well adapted to the occasional
within the framework of our study, was defined by
users who are not experts in the domain
[6] as a cognitive process (acquisition,
In addition, a user who wants to query GIS data has
interpreting/reasoning, expression) guided by
already delimited his field of action. I.e. he already
contexts and uses applying to observations carried
builds his query in terms coming from his field of
out to entities located in a geographic space, in order
expertise.
to restrict possible interpretations of them (to confer
In order to represent the reality as seen by a user, it
a meaning).
is really an translation effort to formulate a query
This general standard lays before the concepts of
concerning his center of interests by means of the
observations, located entities and geographical space
available vocabulary.
which it is necessary to specify or to define with
In ENVIS, the formulation of the query is based on
precision geographic information.
successive selections of icons and metaphors. During
Geographic space is a “physical or geometric”
this formulation the visual representation of the
space in which it is possible to carry out
center of interest of the user is built gradually.
observations. These observations are related to
The icons represent the objects of the geographical
geographic space and characterize the various
database; the metaphors represent the types of
components of this space: geographical features
objects and the relations necessary to the expression
(Fig.1).
of the spatial and temporal constraints in the query.
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A query contains objects or types of objects with one

4. THE CONCEPTUAL MODEL
or more criteria. The objects or types of objects of the
query constitute its operands; criteria are the
First of all, let us specify what is understood by a operators applying to its operands.
spatial database. The objects of a spatial database The query formulated on a spatial database is
have an object-ID, an identifier of theme (in general qualified of a theme query, spatial query, temporal
consisted in the theme of the object and its name, the or spatio-temporal query according to the contents
spatial location, the temporal location and a set of of their criterion of selection.
attributes values (primarily, with alphanumeric A theme query (resp. spatial, temporal,
values). spatiotemporal) relate to the values of the theme
In ENVIS we suppose here that all objects have a attributes (resp. spatial location, temporal location,
spatial location determining their spatial type and spatial location and temporal location) of the objects
their geometry (in the form of a sequence of points of this query.
of space). We also consider the specific, linear and
surfacic objects.
The visual representation of these spatial types 5. ENVIS: A TOOL PROTOTYPE FOR GIS
(linear and surfacic) is given such as the specific QUERYING
objects are compared to surfacic objects of null
surfacic and thus their visual representation is the The Figure 2 presents the principal interface of our
same one as for that of the surfacic objects. prototype ENVIS.
Lastly, let us note that some objects do not have a
significant spatial location. The mobile objects, for
example, are in perpetual movement. These objects
are then compared to specific objects and their
spatial location is related to their temporal location.
We also suppose that all the objects have a temporal
location expressed in the form of an interval of time
delimited by two dates according to a given
temporal axis. One date is regarded as being an
interval of null duration.
A type of object of the database will be represented
visually by its theme type and its spatial type. In the
same way an object is represented by its theme Fig 2.ENVIS Interface
identifier
The theme type is visualized by an icon. The theme ENVIS comprises an editor of visual query in the
identifier consists of the icon of the theme type and a center of which a working space is reserved for the
text value which is a label of this icon. construction of a query starting from the selected
The visual representation of the spatial type is then visual elements step by step (Fig.3).
linked to a theme type (resp. theme identifier) to
give the complete visual representation of a object
type (resp. object).
The theme type is the logical name of a table or a
layer of map of the database. The theme identifier
indicates an object of the table or the map layer the
name of which corresponds to the value of its to
theme type. Thus, in our database example, the
theme types, and thus the tables, are forest, river,
town, roads…

Fig 3. Visual formulation of a spatial query.

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At the end of the formulation of the query this
one can be stored for a later use, erased in the event
of error or validated and then must be translated
into the target language: SQL (Fig.4).
Fig 4.Translation of the visual query in SQL language.
Other conditions can enrich the visual query
as Boolean expressions.
6. CONCLUSION
The querying is one of the most important operations
in the life of a GIS. It thus appears that a particular
interest must be taken to the interfaces and the
effectiveness of the means of querying offered to the
GIS user.
Our tool prototype called ENVIS which was
presented in the preceding sections was designed
and produced in the aim to meet these problems of
GIS querying.
ENVIS uses the formulation of geographic query in a
visual way. With this intention, we initially choose
the adapted visual representation of data. We have
then identified the various necessary steps for the
visual expression of the query.
The figurative approach advocated in ENVIS is very
interesting in this area where users are numerous.
This querying mode offers a simple and easy means
to the end-user who expresses his query with icons
and metaphors.
The visual representation seems to be a
representation adapted to the user of the GIS and a
very promising field to solve problems of GIS
querying.
34
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