Incorporating time into computer cartography: A digital atlas of history

This thesis describes the design and implementation of a prototype digital atlas of history. The core of the project involves the design of a data model for temporal geographic information. The system we design can form the basis of a robust and extensible temporal geographic information system. This work represents a significant innovation in modelling temporal geographic data in that it combines vector representation of map data with a novel system of incremental storage. Our model also employs a system for the efficient representation of shapes on a map using unique boundary segments. This is also a feature not seen previously in the literature. In addition, this thesis demonstrates the feasibility of the design by actually implementing it in the form of a prototype application program.