Georeference

To georeference something means to define its existence in physical space. That is, establishing a
relation between raster or vector images to map projections or coordinate systems. This procedure is
thus imperative to data modeling in the field of geographic information systems (GIS and other
cartographic methods. !hen data from different sources need to be combined and then used in a GIS
application, it becomes essential to have a common referencing system. This is brought about by using
various georeferencing techni"ues.
Geocoding
Geocoding is the process of assigning geographic identifiers (e.g., codes or geographic coordinates
expressed as latitude#longitude to map features and other data records, such as street addresses. $ou
can also geocode media, for example where a picture was ta%en, I& addresses, and anything that has a
geographic component. !ith geographic coordinates the features can be mapped and entered into
Geographic Information Systems.
Map projection
' map projection is any method used in cartography to represent the two#dimensional curved surface
of the earth or other body on a plane.
The term (projection( here refers to any function defined on the earth)s surface and with values on the
plane, and not necessarily a geometric projection.
*lat maps could not exist without map projections, because a sphere cannot be laid flat over a plane
without distortions. +ne can see this mathematically as a conse"uence of Gauss)s Theorema ,gregium.
*lat maps can be more useful than globes in many situations- they are more compact and easier to
store. they readily accommodate an enormous range of scales. they are viewed easily on computer
displays. they can facilitate measuring properties of the terrain being mapped. they can show larger
portions of the earth)s surface at once. and they are cheaper to produce and transport. These useful
traits of flat maps motivate the development of map projections.
Database
' computer database is a structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer system. '
database relies upon software to organi/e the storage of data. In other words, the software models the
database structure in what are %nown as database models (or data models. The model in most
common use today is the relational model. +ther models such as the hierarchical model and the
networ% model use a more explicit representation of relationships (see below for explanation of the
various database models.
0atabase management systems are usually categori/ed according to the database model that they
support. The data model tends to determine the "uery languages that are available to access the
database. ' great deal of the internal engineering of a 012S, however, is independent of the data
model, and is concerned with managing factors such as performance, concurrency, integrity, and
recovery from hardware failures. In these areas there are large differences between products.