Using Versions in GIS

Geographic information systems gis have become important tools in public planning activities (e.g, in environmental or utility management). This type of activity requires the creation and management of alternative scenarios, as well as analysis of temporal data evolution. Existing systems provide limited support for these operations, and appropriate tools are yet to be developed. This paper presents a solution to this problem. This solution is based on managing temporal data and alternatives using the dbv version mechanism. It provides efficient handling and storage of versions, and supports the creation of alternatives for decisionmaking activities. A reduced version of this report appeared in the Proceedings of the DEXA'94 Conference -- 5th International Conference on Database and Expert Systems Applications, Athens, Greece. Keywords: versions, gis, georeferenced data evolution. 1 Introduction Geographic Information Systems (gis) are automated systems that manipulate georeference..