I ntrod uction
The worldwide official standards are developed by the International Organization for
Standardisation (ISO) and two other similar organizations. The ISO/Technical
Committee 211 (lSOITC211) has developed the ISO 19100 family of standards,
named Geographie information I Geomatics. This book is a tutorial for the ISO
19100 standards explaining their meaning, interrelation, and origins. Some national
examples illustrate their application.
The book is addressed to technical experts who already have some background
knowledge in Geographie Information Systems (GIS) and who want to know more
about standardisation in GIS, in particular, the role of the ISO. The book also addresses the needs ofprogrammers who are going to implement ISO 19100 standards
and need a better understanding ofthe overall structure ofthe standards. Last, but not
least, the book is intended for teaching the basics of GIS. Many of the illustrations
will help to better understand some ofthe rather abstract ISO documents.
Chapter 1, sections 1.1 - 1.3 introduce the standardisation language and explain
the role of a worldwide "Standards Developing Organization". This is important for
understanding the original ISO documents, particularly if one intends to take part in
the standardisation process. Section 1.4 is dedicated to the well-known ISO 9000
family of standards, section 1.5 addresses the linguistic adaptability of the standards,
and section 1.6 provides an outlook on future requirements for standards.
Chapter 2, section 2.1 reviews standards that have gained some relevance for
geomatics in the past, including the roots of ISO/TC211 in Europe. Section 2.2
gives an overview over the work of ISOITC211 including an example-GIS and the
description ofthe reference model. Section 2.3 discusses possible future directions of
GIS standardisation, and changes in the relevance of GIS as a whole.
Chapter 3 is one of the two main bodies of the book. The chapter starts with an
explanation of the Information Technology (IT) background to the geomatics standards and is followed by a description of all non-geometry standards. If the reader
requires more details than those presented here or even the full text of the document,
ISO or other sources have to be contacted.
Chapter 4 is the other of the two main bodies of the book and explains the details
ofthe geometry-oriented ISO 19100 standards. The chapter is intended primarily for
GIS instructors.
Chapter 5 introduces the partner organizations to ISOITC211 that are referred to
as liaison members. One of the most important liaison members is the Open GIS
Consortium (OGC). This chapter illustrates the central role ofISO/TC211.
Chapter 6 contains a few examples that demonstrate the wide range of possible
applications based on the ISO 19100 geomatic standards.
W. Kresse et al., ISO Standards for Geographic Information
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004
The worldwide official standards are developed by the International Organization for
Standardisation (ISO) and two other similar organizations. The ISO/Technical
Committee 211 (lSOITC211) has developed the ISO 19100 family of standards,
named Geographie information I Geomatics. This book is a tutorial for the ISO
19100 standards explaining their meaning, interrelation, and origins. Some national
examples illustrate their application.
The book is addressed to technical experts who already have some background
knowledge in Geographie Information Systems (GIS) and who want to know more
about standardisation in GIS, in particular, the role of the ISO. The book also addresses the needs ofprogrammers who are going to implement ISO 19100 standards
and need a better understanding ofthe overall structure ofthe standards. Last, but not
least, the book is intended for teaching the basics of GIS. Many of the illustrations
will help to better understand some ofthe rather abstract ISO documents.
Chapter 1, sections 1.1 - 1.3 introduce the standardisation language and explain
the role of a worldwide "Standards Developing Organization". This is important for
understanding the original ISO documents, particularly if one intends to take part in
the standardisation process. Section 1.4 is dedicated to the well-known ISO 9000
family of standards, section 1.5 addresses the linguistic adaptability of the standards,
and section 1.6 provides an outlook on future requirements for standards.
Chapter 2, section 2.1 reviews standards that have gained some relevance for
geomatics in the past, including the roots of ISO/TC211 in Europe. Section 2.2
gives an overview over the work of ISOITC211 including an example-GIS and the
description ofthe reference model. Section 2.3 discusses possible future directions of
GIS standardisation, and changes in the relevance of GIS as a whole.
Chapter 3 is one of the two main bodies of the book. The chapter starts with an
explanation of the Information Technology (IT) background to the geomatics standards and is followed by a description of all non-geometry standards. If the reader
requires more details than those presented here or even the full text of the document,
ISO or other sources have to be contacted.
Chapter 4 is the other of the two main bodies of the book and explains the details
ofthe geometry-oriented ISO 19100 standards. The chapter is intended primarily for
GIS instructors.
Chapter 5 introduces the partner organizations to ISOITC211 that are referred to
as liaison members. One of the most important liaison members is the Open GIS
Consortium (OGC). This chapter illustrates the central role ofISO/TC211.
Chapter 6 contains a few examples that demonstrate the wide range of possible
applications based on the ISO 19100 geomatic standards.
W. Kresse et al., ISO Standards for Geographic Information
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004