ABSTRACT
Generalisation is an inherent characteristic of all geographical data. The manner in which generalisation affects the statistical and geometric properties of spatial data is fundamental to the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The ultimate goal of the GIS community and of mapping agencies would be to use a knowledge-based system and generalisation algorithms to produce a scale-independent GIS. Often associated with scale is the term resolution: 'The resolution of a data set defines the smallest object or feature which is included or is discernible in the data'. Most generalisation is carried out manually by trained cartographers, their work and research being driven primarily by the need to show features at a map scale much smaller than that at which the information was originally presented. Generalisation algorithms constitute the building blocks of the automation process. In all of the algorithms developed for vector-mode generalisation, a strong emphasis has been placed on line generalisation.
