1. Compare the raster and vector data structures.

2. Define Entity.
In Geographic Information Systems (GIS), an "entity" refers to a distinct, identifiable object or
concept that can be represented and analyzed spatially. Entities are the fundamental building
blocks of GIS data and can be anything that has a location and can be mapped.
Point Entity: A specific location, such as a GPS coordinate for a bus stop.
Line Entity: A feature like a river or road, which has length but negligible width.
Polygon Entity: An area with defined boundaries, such as the boundary of a land
parcel or a forest.

3. What are all the different types of Encodings?

 Run-Length Encoding (RLE): Effective for compressing long runs of identical values
in raster data.
 Quadtree Encoding: Useful for hierarchical spatial partitioning and indexing.
 Block Encoding: Divides data into fixed-size blocks for efficient processing.
 Chain Encoding: Represents contours and boundaries in raster images by encoding
directional movements.
 4. What is meant by data and its types in GIS?
GIS technology utilizes two basic types of data. These are: 1) Spatial data: describes the
absolute and relative location of geographic features. 2) Attribute data: describes
characteristics of the spatial features.

5. Give the types of data structure models of GIS.

Data models are the conceptual models that describe the structures of databases. The
structure of a database is defined by the data types, the constraints and the relationships
for the description or storage of data. Following are the most often used data models:
1) Hierarchical Data Structure Model
2) Network Data Structure Model
3) Relational Data Structure Model
4) Object Oriented Data Structure Model

6. Explain in detail about the raster data models and its compression.

Raster data models are a fundamental way to represent spatial data in GIS and remote sensing
applications. They are particularly suited for representing continuous phenomena like elevation,
temperature, or land cover. Raster data is essentially a grid of cells or pixels, where each cell
contains a value representing information about that location.

1. Basic Concept

 Grid Structure: Raster data is organized as a grid of cells, where each cell has a specific
size and contains a value representing a measurement or attribute. Each cell corresponds
to a geographic location and the value represents the attribute of that location.
 Resolution: The resolution of a raster dataset is determined by the size of the cells (e.g.,
10x10 meters per cell). Higher resolution means more cells per unit area and more detail.

2. Types of Raster Data

 Binary Raster: Consists of cells with only two possible values, often used to represent
presence/absence or on/off states (e.g., land cover classification: forest vs. non-forest).
 Categorical Raster: Contains discrete values representing different categories or classes.
Each cell value corresponds to a class, such as different land use types.
 Continuous Raster: Represents continuous data where cell values can vary smoothly
over the surface, such as elevation or temperature. The values typically represent
measurements at specific points and can interpolate between cells.

3. Applications

 Remote Sensing: Raster data from satellite imagery or aerial photography for analyzing
land cover, vegetation, and more.
 Environmental Modeling: Representing and analyzing continuous variables like
elevation, precipitation, and pollution.
 Urban Planning: Mapping and analyzing various aspects of urban environments, such as
infrastructure and land use.

Raster Data Compression

Raster data can be quite large, especially with high resolution and extensive geographic
coverage. Compression techniques are used to reduce the size of raster files for storage
and transmission. Here are common raster data compression methods:

1. Lossless Compression

Lossless compression methods preserve the original data exactly and allow it to be
perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data.

 Run-Length Encoding (RLE): Compresses data by encoding sequences of identical

values as a single value and a count. This is particularly effective for binary or simple
categorical rasters where large areas have the same value.
o Example: For a raster with long runs of the same value, such as large
homogeneous regions in an image, RLE can greatly reduce file size.
 Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW): A dictionary-based compression algorithm used in formats
like TIFF. It replaces repetitive patterns with shorter codes.
o Example: Compressing a raster image where repetitive pixel patterns occur
frequently.
 Deflate: A combination of LZ77 and Huffman coding, used in formats like PNG and
GeoTIFF. It’s effective for a wide range of data types, including raster data.
o Example: PNG images use Deflate to compress raster images, balancing
compression ratio and speed.

2. Lossy Compression

Lossy compression methods reduce file size by removing some data, which can lead to a
loss of quality. This is often acceptable for certain types of data where slight quality loss
is permissible.

 JPEG Compression: Used for compressing photographic images and continuous-tone

images. It uses discrete cosine transform (DCT) and quantization to achieve compression.
o Example: Satellite imagery where minor loss of detail is acceptable for
significantly reduced file sizes.
 Wavelet Compression: Utilizes wavelet transforms to compress raster data. It is more
efficient for certain types of raster data compared to JPEG.
o Example: Used in formats like JPEG 2000 for high-quality image compression
with better performance for large images and detailed datasets.

3. Specialized Raster Compression Formats

  GeoTIFF: A format that supports both lossless and lossy compression methods. It can
include metadata and georeferencing information along with the raster data.
 HDF (Hierarchical Data Format): Used for storing complex data and metadata, often
used in scientific applications for large datasets.
 NetCDF: Used for array-oriented scientific data, often employed in meteorology and
climate data.

4. Considerations for Compression

 Quality vs. Size: Lossy compression reduces file size at the expense of some data
quality. The degree of compression should be chosen based on the acceptable balance
between file size and data integrity.
 Performance: Compression and decompression speed can impact performance,
especially with large datasets or when real-time processing is required.
 Compatibility: Ensure that the chosen compression method is compatible with the
software and systems used for processing and analyzing the raster data.

7. Describe in detail about the types of data structure models of GIS.

Data models are the conceptual models that describe the structures of databases. The
structure of a database is defined by the data types, the constraints and the relationships for
the description or storage of data. Following are the most often used data models:
1) Hierarchical Data Structure Model
2) Network Data Structure Model
3) Relational Data Structure Model
4) Object Oriented Data Structure Model
1) Hierarchical Data Structure Model It is the earliest database model that is evolved
from file system where records are arranged in a hierarchy or as a tree structure.
Records are connected through pointers that store the address of the related record. Each
pointer establishes a parent-child relationship where a parent can have more than one child but a
child can only have one parent.
There is no connection between the elements at the same level. To locate a particular
record, you have to start at the top of the tree with a parent record and trace down the tree to the
child.
Advantages
• Easy to understand: The organization of database parallels a family tree understanding which is
quite easy.
Disadvantages
• Large index files are to be maintained and certain attribute values are repeated many times
which lead to data redundancy and increased storage.
• The rigid structure of this model doesn’t allow alteration of tables, therefore to add a new
relationship entire database is to be redefined.

2) Network Data Structure Model

A network is a generalized graph that captures relationships between objects using Connectivity.
A network database consists of a collection of records that are connected to each other through
links. A link is an association between two records. It allows each record to have many parents
and many children thus allowing a natural model of relationships between entities.

Advantages
• The many too many relationships are easily implemented in a network data model.
• Data access and flexibility in network model is better than that in hierarchical model. An
application can access an owner record and the member records within a set.
• It enforces data integrity as a user must first define owner record and then the member records.
• The model eliminated redundancy but at the expense of more complicated
relationships.

3) Relational Data Structure Model

• The relational data model was introduced by Codd in 1970. The relational database relates or
connects data in different files through the use of a common field.
• A flat file structure is used with a relational database model. In this arrangement, data is stored
in different tables made up of rows and columns.
• The columns of a table are named by attributes. Each row in the table is called a tuple and
represents a basic fact.
• No two rows of the same table may have identical values in all columns.
Advantages
• The manager or administrator does not have to be aware of any data structure or data pointer.
One can easily add, update, delete or create records using simple logic.
Disadvantages
• A few search commands in a relational database require more time to process compared with
other database models.

4) Object Oriented Database Structure

• An Object Oriented model uses functions to model spatial and non-spatial relationships of
geographic objects and the attributes.
• An object is an encapsulated unit which is characterized by attributes, a set of orientations and
rules. An object-oriented model has the following characteristics.
Generic Properties: there should be an inheritance relationship.
Abtraction: objects, classes and super classes are to be generated by classification,
generalisation, association and aggregation.
Adhoc Queries: users can order spatial operations to obtain spatial relationships of geographic
objects using a special language.

An object-oriented database is based on a semantic model Which is usually managed by a spatial

language although the language has not yet been fully completed.