Standard-based exchange interface
The standards-based exchange interface ( NAS ) is a data interface for the exchange of geographic information , which was defined as part of the modeling of the geographic information systems AFIS , ALKIS and ATKIS by the Working Group of the Surveying Administrations of the Federal Republic of Germany (AdV). It is an XML -based file format. Therefore, software manufacturers have the option of offering import options for the various applications.
Standards used
The NAS is based, among other things, on the use of the following norms and industry standards:
- UML 1.3: 1999, Unified Modeling Language (UML), Object Management Group (OMG)
- XML 1.0: 1998, Extensible Markup Language (XML) , W3C Recommendation, October 6, 2000
- XML Schema Part 1: Structures - W3C Recommendation, May 2, 2001
- XML Schema Part 2: Datatypes - W3C Recommendation, May 2, 2001
- XLink XML Linking Language (XLink) Version 1.0, W3C Recommendation June 27, 2001
- OpenGIS Geography Markup Language (GML) Encoding Standard Version 3.2.1 , Open Geospatial Consortium , 2007 (same content as ISO 19136 )
- Web Feature Service (WFS) 1.0 Open Geospatial Consortium, 2002
- Filter Encoding (FES) 1.0 Open Geospatial Consortium, 2002
- ISO 19107 Geographic Information - Spatial Schema available from Beuth-Verlag, Berlin
- ISO 19111 Geographic Information - Spatial referencing by coordinates available from Beuth-Verlag, Berlin
- ISO 19118 Geographic Information - Encoding not yet published in its final version
It is the external model of the AFIS-ALKIS-ATKIS model
Compared to other standards
The interfaces defined by public administration bodies are in some cases very extensively defined so that they can map all conceivable data in the area of application. For users, however, simpler structures are sometimes sufficient. In the past, the formats defined by the administration, such as the standardized database interface (EDBS), were therefore not always accepted by the user to the extent expected. Because the so-called industry standards are in competition with the formats of the administration. DXF ( Autodesk ) and Shapefile ( ESRI ) are currently very common there . MIF / MID ( MapInfo ) is less common in Germany.
NAS cannot be compared with DXF or EDBS, since the NAS already depicts the geometries as objects and also includes specialist information and object relationships.
Neither in NAS, Shape or EDBS is the file format defined as to how the elements should be displayed. In contrast to NAS, the shape format also lacks the possibility of mutual referencing of objects.
The market penetration of GIS file formats and thus also the question of whether NAS will prevail ultimately depends on the policy of (international) GIS companies and the administration. The next step to be expected in the GIS industry, a GML import, has not yet been done as standard in the geographic information systems , but is on the rise. Since NAS contains GML, it is to be expected that it will spread more easily than EDBS. Reactions from GIS companies and users confirm this expectation.
Web links
Test data
- ALKIS test data (based on GeoInfoDok 6.0) from the State Office for Surveying and Basic Geographic Information in Rhineland-Palatinate
- ALKIS test data (based on GeoInfoDok 4.0) from the Lower Saxony authorities for geoinformation, land development and real estate; ZIP file
- ALKIS test data from land surveying and geographic base information Brandenburg
software
- Website of the PostNAS project (open source NAS driver), an extension of the GDAL / OGR project
- Download NAS / GML viewer (freeware) from the Snowflake Software website
- Download NASloader ++ (NAS converter, test version) on the website of GDV GeoSoftware
- Download product brochure NAS converter (NAS converter, test version on request; PDF; 364 kB) on the BBSoft website
- Download product flyer NAS converter (NAS converter, test version on request; PDF) on the website of TOPO graphics GmbH
- DIGITERRA NAS converter Information on the website of DIGITERRA Systemhaus B. Drahola