"Spatial Databases" is the first unified, in-depth treatment of special techniques for dealing with spatial data, particularly in the field of geographic information systems (GIS). This book surveys various techniques, such as spatial data models, algorithms, and indexing methods, developed to address specific features of spatial data that are not adequately handled by mainstream DBMS technology.

The book also reviews commercial solutions to geographic data handling: ArcInfo, ArcView, and Smallworld GISs; and two extensions to the relational model, PostgreSQL and Oracle Spatial. The authors examine these underlying GIS technologies, assess their strengths and weaknesses, and consider specific uses for which each product is best suited.
* Examines the strengths of various query languages and approaches to query processing.
* Explains the use of computational geometry in spatial databases GISs, providing necessary background and an in-depth look at key algorithms.
* Covers spatial access methods, including the R-tree and several space-driven structures, and is filled with dozens of helpful illustrations.

The Internet and World Wide Web have revolutionized access to information. Users now store information across multiple platforms from personal computers, to smartphones, to websites such as Youtube and Picasa. As a consequence, data management concepts, methods, and techniques are increasingly focused on distribution concerns. Now that information largely resides in the network, so do the tools that process this information. This book explains the foundations of XML, the Web standard for data management, with a focus on data distribution. It covers the many facets of distributed data management on the Web, such as description logics, that are already emerging in today's data integration applications and herald tomorrow's semantic Web. It also introduces the machinery used to manipulate the unprecedented amount of data collected on the Web. Several 'Putting into Practice' chapters describe detailed practical applications of the technologies and techniques. Striking a balance between the conceptual and the practical, the book will serve as an introduction to the new, global, information systems for Web professionals as well as for master's level courses.