Standards and Specifications

There are many reasons to use standards and specifications when you are developing geospatial applications. Besides providing functional requirements for data and services, geospatial standards allow:

  • Interoperability by all stakeholders;
  • Increased availability, access and sharing of geospatial information;
  • Efficient use of digital geospatial information and associated hardware and software systems;
  • Promotion of existing and evolving Canadian technology and expertise;
  • Ensuring compliance of Canadian data products;
  • Cooperation with international activities and
  • Solutions for global delivery of geospatial information.

In terms of day-to-day activity, using CGDI-endorsed standards and specifications:

  • Reduces development costs;
  • Hides the complexity of components; and
  • Permits GIS practitioners and developers to benefit from “plug and play” components.

Before and after

Without standards, simple tasks are more complex and time-consuming. Take the case of Luc, who would like to view maps of two different cities.

Before web map service standards, Luc would have to go to two separate municipal government web sites to view the city maps.

Both municipalities realize they are not providing a good service to their customers, so they publish their data through a web map service. Discovering that this data has been made available through a web map service, Luc hooks up to both sets of data through a simple web-based interface. With standards, he can easily look at both sets of data in one place from any Internet browser. He also finds that he can add other web-based map service such as the National Topographic Database (NTDB) so that he can plan his trip between the two cities as well.

With these web service standards, the municipalities (the data providers) are pleased because they are fulfilling their mandate of serving the public.

End-users like Luc really appreciate the benefits that accrue from standards-based interoperability.

Everybody wins.