W. Wolfer
Grüner Weg 5, 88719
Stetten, Germany
werner.wolfer@hs-karlsruhe.de
Generating
maps from data organized in a GIS requires a chain of technically complex
processing tasks, regardless of the end product being needed in a planning
department, placed on an organization’s home page, or sold in a bookstore to a
customer. Operating costs can be reduced if production is organized within a suitably
designed processing environment: the aim is to have a systematic, standardized
work flow, consisting of effective methods and tools in all production phases
from database organization all the way through product finishing.
On the example of the
production of world atlases, this paper describes a toolkit that has been
developed for efficiently converting GIS source data into cartographic products
at scales between ca. 1 : 500,000 and 1 : 5 Mill. At the outset, an outline of
the production environment is provided. The core part consists of a description
of the production toolkit, indicating where tools provided by standard software
packages reach their limits. Emphasis is on explaining the functionality rather
than on software architecture. A representative selection of the tools is
discussed in more detail and illustrated by sample maps and graphics. The
procedures encompass all major production activities, such as database and
product editing, data verification, map preparation, product generation, and updating,
plus a set of general process handling functions. In conclusion, a summary of
the experiences in working with the system will be given.