[postgis-users] When and Why use a DB?

[Adrian Custer]

There are two issues here:

1) the advantage of a DB over a flat file
essentially this boils down to editability in a multi user environment.
(concurrency, consistency...) There is also an issue of scale, I'd
expect the DB to handle much larger data sets gracefully.


2) the incorporation of analysis into the db vs in the GIS
Postgis is gaining ever more analytic functionality. Your GIS software
may have this and be able to do it fast on a shapefile layer but Postgis
is getting more and more of this.

Ideally the DB should be transparent to the user who would not really
care how the data was stored and be able to export a data set to send to
others. This discussion could go to MUCH greater depth but that's real
work. 

cheers,
adrian



On Mon, 2002-07-08 at 07:49, Hopper wrote:
> Now that I've compiled and installed both Postgres and PostGIS, I'm stumped.
> Perhaps I've gotten a bit ahead of myself in this, but what are some
> advantages to using a database versus the standard, individual shapefiles? I
> understand the concepts of databases, and RDMBS, but I don't see a clear
> connection to how this will enhance things.
> 
> I see one advantage being the ability to easily integrate with the Mapserver
> environment for distribution to remote clients, but what are the internal
> advantages? The distribution of data via and intranet and the Internet is
> the main reason we are deploying PostGIS, but I'm curious how else it might
> be utilized. I didn't see anything in the docs or on the main website that
> might suggest a greater scope of use, though I know one must exist.
> 
> There is some mention that the Postgre/PostGIS setup is similar in theory to
> ArcSDE and a commercial database, but so far as I can discern, this isn't
> the main goal of the project.
> 
> Any commentary or clarification is appreciated.
> 
> Regards,
> Nathan
> 
> 
> 
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