A Flexible Architecture for Web-based GIS Applications using Docker and Graph Databases

• Main Authors: Annanias, Yves, Wiegreffe, Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 18-04-2024
• Subjects: Computer Science - Human-Computer Interaction
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2404.12074

Regional planning processes and associated redevelopment projects can be
complex due to the vast amount of diverse data involved. However, all of this
data shares a common geographical reference, especially in the renaturation of
former open-cast mining areas. To ensure safety, it is crucial to maintain a
comprehensive overview of the interrelated data and draw accurate conclusions.
This requires special tools and can be a very time-consuming process. A
geographical information system (GIS) is well-suited for this purpose, but even
a GIS has limitations when dealing with multiple data types and sources.
Additional tools are often necessary to process and view all the data, which
can complicate the planning process. Our paper describes a system architecture
that addresses the aforementioned issues and provides a simple, yet flexible
tool for these activities. The architecture is based on microservices using
Docker and is divided into a backend and a frontend. The backend simplifies and
generalizes the integration of different data types, while a graph database is
used to link relevant data and reveal potential new relationships between them.
Finally, a modern web frontend displays the data and relationships.