THE NUTS & BOLTS OF GIS: A GEO-DATABASE ARCHITECTURE Presented by John R. Woodard MS, GISP

A Quick Introduction PROFESSIONAL:  15 years practical experience of applying GIS to everyday issues.  GISP (Geographic Information System Professional)Certification  EA (Enterprise Architecture) Certification  GIS Coordinator for Chagrin Valley Engineering, Ltd EDUCATION:  MS in Geography/GIS from the University of Akron.  ¾ finished with Masters in Digital Science at Kent State University. PERSONAL: Scuba Diver & Beekeeper (Yes, I deal with 100,000 bees and sell honey!)

The Geo-database How do you use a geo-database?  Is it a container for all of your shapefiles converted to feature classes?  Have you organized these feature classes by type?  Have you organized the database with feature data sets? What are there limits to a geo-database?  Repair data  Size

How can we get more from a geo-database?  Create a naming convention (rule) for your feature classes: Feature Dataset: 1. it should relate to the type of data (Municipal) 2. it should contain year of creation(2014) Example: M_Lyndhurst2014 Now any feature class that is imported, created, or edited should be stored in this dataset. This shows that the feature class relates to the City of Lyndhurst and was created in 2014.

Names for Feature Classes and Datasets

Geo-database Architecture (Plan or Blueprint) Overview Sheet: Feature dataset (divided by category) Feature classes (Information Contained) Source (Where or how was the information obtained) Status: (Complete, Incomplete, in-progress Feature Class Detail Sheet: Name, Shape type, Field, Data, Definition, Source, Notes Domain Details Sheet Name, Properties, and a Description for each property.

How many people have received geo- database and wished it included a data dictionary?

AROADS A00Road, major and minor categories unknown A01Road, unseparated A02Road, unseparated, in tunnel A03Road, unseparated, underpassing A04Road, unseparated, with rail line in center A05Road, separated A06Road, separated, in tunnel A07Road, separated, underpassing A08Road, separated, with rail line in center A09not used A1PRIMARY HIGHWAY WITH LIMITED ACCESS A10Primary road with limited access, major category A11Primary road with limited access or interstate hwy, unseparated A12Primary road with limited access or interstate hwy, unseparated in tunnel A13Primary road with limited access or interstate hwy, unseparated underpassing A14Primary road with limited access or interstate hwy, unseparated rail line in center A15Primary road with limited access or interstate hwy, separated A16Primary road with limited access or interstate hwy, separated in tunnel A17Primary road with limited access or interstate hwy, separated underpassing A18Primary road with limited access or interstate hwy, separated rail line in center A19 not used Feature Class Codes (FCC) his series of codes provides more detailed information on the classification of the line segment. This list represents all feature class codes. GDT products do not necessarily include all of the codes listed below. Geographic Data Technology

Geo-Database Tables!!!!!! 1. Create your data dictionary in Excel (or Open Office) 2. Break down into individual sheets 3. Use the Tool for importing tables into the geo-database. Now you have a data dictionary or feature class information is easily accessible, can be joined or related to feature classes, and will travel with the geo-database.

Table Examples

CONCLUSIONS:  A Geo-database can be much more than a simple container for your feature classes.  One does not have to use the “high end” tools or methods to benefit from a geo-database.  Consider the geo-database to be a data warehouse.  A “warehouse” architecture will  Keep you organized  Eliminate mistakes  Provide quicker and more efficient analysis

Thank you for your time! Are there any questions? John R. Woodard MS, GISP or Linked-in: John Woodard MS, GISP