A map acquisition, storage, indexing, and retrieval system

A system for the acquisition, storage, indexing, and retrieval of map images is presented. The input to this system are raster images of separate map layers and map composites. A legend driven map interpretation system converts layer images from a physical to a logical representation. This logical representation is used to automatically index both the composite and the layer images. Methods for incorporating logical and physical layers as well as composite images into the framework of a relational database management system are described. An example query and a corresponding query processing strategy that uses these indices is presented. The user interface is demonstrated via an example query execution.