An implementation of network optimization system using geographical information systems

By managing not only geographical information but also various kinds of attribute data, GIS presents useful information for decision-making. Most of decision-making problems using GIS can be formulated into network-optimization problems. In this study, we deal with the implementation of network optimization system that extracts data from the database in GIS, solve a network optimization problem, and present optimal solutions through the GIS graphical user interface. We design a network optimization system, and present some implementation techniques by showing a prototype of the network optimization system. Our network optimization system consists of three components: the interface module for user and GIS, the basic network optimization program module, the advanced network optimization program module. To handle large-scale networks, the program module including various techniques for large sparse networks is also considered. For the implementation of the network optimization system, we consider two approaches: the method using script languages supported by GIS, and the method using client tools of GIS. Finally, some execution results displayed by the prototype version of network optimization system are given.