Oracle Spatial Database with Mapviewer and Map Builder for Designing Spatial Application of Thapar University

Abstract

Oracle Spatial is an integrated set of functions and procedures for handling spatial data stored in an Oracle database. Spatial data represents the essential location characteristics of real or conceptual objects as those objects relate to the real or conceptual space in which they exist. Once this spatial data is stored in an Oracle database, it can be processed, retrieved, and related to all the other data stored in the database using the Oracle Spatial. The MapViewer (or simply, MapViewer) is a server-side component that constructs maps by reading appropriate database views and tables and returns the maps to the client applications in the appropriate formats. MapViewer provides web application developers a versatile means to integrate and visualize spatial data with maps. It uses the basic capability included with Oracle10g/11g to manage geographic mapping data. The MapViewer is supported by the Oracle Map Builder tool which is used to create and manage the MapViewer mapping metadata which includes styles, themes and base maps. Besides handling the metadata, the tool provides interfaces to preview the metadata and display the original spatial information from the spatial tables without creating MapViewer metadata. The condition of spatial application development is not much satisfactory in India. Most of the application development works are still approaching the traditional framework of application development and avoiding the powerful features of spatial technologies. In this thesis work, we have designed and developed a spatial application of Thapar University. This application shows the map of Thapar University and is featured with various map options like navigation panel and distance tools etc. Our developed system has the provision to view the different locations depicted in the map. It has also a feature to find the distance between two locations in the map.