Synonyms
Definition
Spatial constraint databases form a generalization of relational databases for the purpose of representing spatial and spatiotemporal data. Whereas in a relational database each table is a finite set of tuples, in a spatial constraint database, each table is a finite set of quantifier-free conjunctions of atomic constraints. In spatial constraint databases, the most frequent type of atomic constraints used are linear equations and linear inequalities. The variables of the atomic constraints correspond to the attributes in the relation; hence, they are called attribute variables.
As an example from Revesz (2010), consider the highly simplified map of the town of Lincoln, Nebraska, shown in Fig. 1.
A map of Lincoln, Nebraska
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References
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Recommended Reading
Revesz P, Li Y (1997) MLPQ: a linear constraint database system with aggregate operators. In: Proceedings of 1st international database engineering and applications symposium. IEEE Press, Washington, pp 132–137
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Revesz, P.Z. (2017). Constraint Databases, Spatial. In: Shekhar, S., Xiong, H., Zhou, X. (eds) Encyclopedia of GIS. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17885-1_190
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