Formal information modelling for standardisation in the spatial domain

Abstract

This paper presents the results and experiences of applying a formal tool to writing specifications for software in the spatial domain. We take a specification from a standards organization to demonstrate the properties of this approach, and we compare our result with the semi-formal specification of the standards organization. The expected advantages—formal semantics of specified interfaces, total abstraction from implementation, executable prototype, and extendable algebraic structure—can be verified. However negative experiences are reported also: pure abstract code turns out to appear overloaded and difficult to read (by humans). With this work we contribute to the foundations of standardisation efforts in the spatial domain, preserving an object oriented modeling approach.

Acknowledgments

Gerhard Navratil and Andrew Frank, both TU Vienna, gave valuable input and ideas to improve the functional specification. Also we gratefully acknowledge the help of Cliff Kottman, OGC, in interpreting OGC's abstract specification Topic 6: The Coverage and its Subtypes.