This volume collects the papers presented at the European Conference on Spatial Information Theory (COSIT '93) held on the island of Elba, Italy, inSeptember 1993. Spatial information theory includes disciplinary topics and interdisciplinary issues dealing with the conceptualization and formalization of large-scale (geographic) space. It contributes towards a consistent theoretical basis for Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Geographic information systems are widely used in administration,planning, and science in many different countries, and for a wide variety ofapplications. Research results which relevant for GIS are distributed between many disciplines and contacts between researchers have been limited. At the same time, the development of GIS has been hinderedby the lack of a sound theoretical base. This conference was intended to help remedies these problems.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the International Workshop on Integrated Databases, Digital Images and GIS, ISD'99, held in Portland, Maine, USA in June 1999. The 18 revised full papers presented went through a double reviewing process and were selected from nearly 40 original submissions. The book is divided into parts on object extraction from raster images, geospatial analysis, formalisms and modeling, and data access.

The development of wireless telecommunication and ubiquitous computing te- nologies has led to a growing mobile population and dramatically changed p- terns of working and everyday life. A smooth and safe mobility is only possible when the mobile person is well-informed of the happenings in his ambient en- ronments. Location-sensitive maps have proved a strong enhancement to what a mobile user can directly perceive from his ambient environments. Since ancient times the map has been the favorite communication language of spatial infor- tion. It is even more the case for mobile applications where brand-new maps can be wirelessly retrieved or generated in real-time. The upsurge of map-based s- vices on mobile devices has raised a number of new questions challenging the conventional computer-assisted cartography. Map-based mobile services provides a contemporary overview of research and development issues related to the design and the use of mobility-supporting maps. The book has been written for professional cartographers who are striving for - tending their theoretical, methodological and practical knowledge to mobile m- making, for surveyors and geo-service providers involved in the development of intelligent location-based services, for software developers and cognitive scientists engaged in human-computer interaction, and for students and academics in cart- raphy and geoinformation sciences. The book was initiated by the multidisciplinary workshop “Design of m- based mobile services” within the frame of the conference “Human and Computer 2003 – Interaction on the movement” held in Stuttgart, Germany, September 2003.

In an effort to further investigation into critical development facets of geographic information systems (GIS), this book explores the reasoning processes that apply to geographic space and time. As a result of an iniative sponsored by the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA), it treats the computational, cognitive and social science applications aspects of spatial and temporal reasoning in GIS. Essays were contributed by scholars from a broad spectrum of disciplines including: geography, cartography, surveying and engineering, computer science, mathematics and environmental and cognitive psychology.

This text provides a background view of the object approach, related geometric aspects, the different level of data modelling and the role of geo-information theory. The rest of the book builds upon these concepts describing the applicability of broader aspects such as topology, thematic object classes and class hierarchies, object aggregation and generalization and uncertainty.