What exactly is a geodatabase?

A geodatabase is a relational database that stores geographic data.

At its most basic level, the geodatabase is a container for storing spatial and attribute data
and the relationships that exist among them. In a geodatabase, which is a vector data
format, features and their associated attributes can be structured to work together as an
integrated system using rules, relationships, and topological associations. In other words,
the geodatabase allows you to model the real world as simply or complexly as your needs
dictate.
Geodatabases are created, edited, and managed using the standard menus and tools in
ArcCatalog™, ArcMap™, and ArcToolbox™.

RDBMS

Relational database management system. A type of database in which

the data is organized across several tables. Tables are associated with
each other through common fields. Data items can be recombined
from different files. In contrast to other database structures, an RDBMS
requires few assumptions about how data is related or how it will be
extracted from the database.

Concept

Advantages of the geodatabase

The quest of every GIS user is to create a more accurate representation of the real world.
For many applications, the geodatabase can take you closer to that goal. The essential
idea behind the geodatabase is to make working with GIS data and software more
intuitive. The graphic below illustrates some of the reasons why your organization may
choose to use the geodatabase.
All of the functionality shown below can be implemented using standard ArcGIS
commands—no programming is required.
• Centralized GIS • Feature-linked
data management annotation
• Continuous sets • Custom features
of features • Geometric
• Advanced feature networks
geometry • Linear referencing
• COGO support • Versioning
• Feature subtypes • Disconnected
• Flexible, rule- editing
based topology
This is an interactive graphic. Pause your • UML and CASE
• More accurate mouse pointer over each bullet item to see tool support
data editing the related information.

Concept

Types of geodatabases

There are two types of geodatabases: personal and multiuser.

A personal geodatabase has the .mdb file extension (a format used by Microsoft Access)
and can be read by multiple people at the same time, but edited by only one person at a
time. A personal geodatabase has a maximum size of 2 gigabytes (GB) and stores vector
data.
 A personal geodatabase
requires no additional
software and handles
small to moderately
sized datasets.
Multiuser geodatabases (also called ArcSDE® or enterprise geodatabases) are suitable
for large workgroups and enterprise GIS implementations. They can be read and edited
by multiple users at the same time, and they can store both vector and raster data.
Multiuser geodatabases are comprised of ArcSDE software and a DBMS (database
management system) such as IBM, DB2, Informix, Oracle, or SQL Server. The spatial
data is stored in the DBMS and ArcSDE allows you to view and work with the data from
your GIS software applications. If you are working with an Oracle 8i or SQL Server
database management system, you can directly connect to your data from ArcCatalog or
ArcMap. For other database management systems, ArcSDE manages the connection.

A multiuser geodatabase stores large spatial datasets using

ArcSDE and a commercial database management system.
Some database software allows for a direct connection
between the ArcGIS application and the database.
If a project becomes too large for a personal geodatabase, you can easily move the data
stored in a personal geodatabase to a multiuser geodatabase using ArcCatalog.

Table 1. Comparison of multiuser and personal

geodatabases.

Client / Long Disconnected

DBMS Editors Raster Size
Server Transactions* Editing
 IBM DB2,
1 or more
Informix,
Multiuser Yes Yes Yes at the same Yes Unlimited
Microsoft SQL
time
Server, Oracle
Up to 2
Personal Microsoft Access No No No 1 at a time No
GB
*Database transactions spanning multiple edit sessions

Concept

Scalable functionality

In many organizations, geographic data creation, integration, management, and analysis

is handled by more than one person. For example, the person (or group) responsible for
data analysis is usually not the same person who designs the GIS database.
This distribution of functions is reflected in the scalable functionality of the geodatabase.
An ArcView® license provides core geodatabase functionality such as creating a
geodatabase, populating it with data, and editing simple features. ArcEditor™ and
ArcInfo™ licenses provide more advanced functionality, including creating and editing
geometric networks and relationship classes.
This course primarily covers core geodatabase functionality. However, some topics
discuss more advanced functionality. In the introduction to each of these topics, you will
find a table summarizing the differences in functionality for ArcView, ArcEditor, and
ArcInfo.
For a more detailed comparison of the functionality available in the three licenses, refer
to the ArcGIS Desktop Help topic, The ArcGIS Desktop and the geodatabase. (To see
this topic, in ArcCatalog or ArcMap, click the Help menu and choose ArcGIS Desktop
Help. Click the Contents tab, then double-click Geodatabases and Getting started with
geodatabases).

ArcGIS licenses and this course

If you are using an ArcView license, you will be able to do two-thirds of the exercises in
this course. If you are using an ArcEditor or ArcInfo license, you can complete all course
exercises.
If you're not sure which ArcGIS license you're using, open ArcCatalog or ArcMap. The
licensed product name displays in the title bar of the window.

If you would like to complete all of the course exercises, check with your GIS manager
or system administrator to see if your organization has a floating license for ArcEditor or
ArcInfo that you can use. If a higher level license is available, you can use the ArcGIS
Desktop Administrator to switch to a different license.
For more information about the ArcGIS Desktop Administrator and licenses, refer to the
ArcGIS Desktop Help topic, The ArcGIS License Manager, found in the Contents tab
under Getting started.

Concept

Feature classes

A feature class is a collection of geographic features with the same geometry type, the
same attributes, and the same spatial reference. Feature classes can also store annotation,
which you'll learn about later in this course.
For example, all the telephone poles in London could be represented as a feature class in
a geodatabase. Streets would be another feature class. London districts would be a third
feature class. Each of these feature classes would be represented as a shapefile in
ArcView 3.x or as a feature class in an ArcInfo coverage.
Feature classes may exist independently in a geodatabase as stand-alone feature classes or
you can group them into feature datasets.
spatial reference

The coordinate system used to store a spatial dataset. For feature

classes and feature datasets within a geodatabase, the spatial
reference also includes the spatial domain.

annotation

1. In cartography, text or graphics on a map that provide information

beyond that given by labels. For example, annotation may describe
facts or events associated with a place; or indicate directions of winds
and currents; or show elevations or depths at various locations.

2. In ArcGIS, text or graphics on a map that can be individually

selected, positioned, and modified by the software user. The text may
represent either feature attributes or supplementary information.
Annotation may be manually entered by the user or generated from
labels. Annotation is stored either in a map document as text or
graphic elements, or in a geodatabase as a feature class.

See also: label; annotation class; graphic text; text formatting tag;
feature-linked annotation

Concept

Feature datasets

A feature dataset is composed of feature classes that have been grouped together so they
can participate in topological relationships with each other. All the feature classes in a
feature dataset must share the same spatial reference; that is, they must have the same
coordinate system and their features must fall within a common geographic area.
Feature classes that participate in a geometric network must be placed in a feature
dataset. For example, a feature dataset named PublicWater might contain a line feature
class representing water lines, a point feature class representing junctions, and another
point feature class representing pipe fittings. All features in the feature dataset are
dependent on each other—water lines can't connect without a junction, and junctions and
fittings can't exist unless they are attached to a water line.

In the CityWater
geodatabase, three point
feature classes and one line
feature class were grouped
into the PublicWater feature
dataset to create a
geometric network called
WaterNet.
Within a feature dataset, depending on the relative locations of features in one feature
class to features in other feature classes, edits you make to one feature class may result in
edits being made automatically to some or all of the other feature classes in the feature
dataset. For example, in the PublicWater feature dataset, if you move a water line feature,
its junctions and fittings will move as well because features in the three feature classes
share coincident coordinates.
Concept

Geodatabase tables

The geodatabase is a relational database. Therefore, a geodatabase is composed entirely

of tables, but most of these tables are hidden from you when you work with a
geodatabase in ArcCatalog or ArcMap. Your interaction with the tables is managed by
the software. There are only two types of tables that you interact with directly: feature
class tables and nonspatial attribute tables.
Both types of tables are created and managed in ArcCatalog and edited in ArcMap. Both
display in the traditional row-and-column format. The difference is that feature class
tables have one or more columns that store feature geometry.
Nonspatial tables contain only attribute data (no feature geometry) and display in
ArcCatalog with the table icon . They can exist in a geodatabase as stand-alone tables, or
they can be related to other tables or feature classes. You'll learn more about tables and
relationships in Module 4 of this course.

The cfcc_desc table in the SantaBarbara geodatabase contains

attribute data for the Roads feature class (stored inside the
Roads feature dataset).
Building on the basics

The basic building blocks of a geodatabase are feature classes, feature datasets, and
tables. Using these, you can build more complex objects in your geodatabase. You can
create associations based on spatial relationships (topology) or on attributes (relationship
classes). You can also build geometric networks to model the flow of resources.
Objects and the geodatabase
 In addition to feature classes, feature datasets,
and tables, a geodatabase can contain topology
objects, geometric networks, and relationship
classes.
Concept

Topology

In a GIS, spatial relationships among features are defined by topology.

In a geodatabase, you can choose whether to create topology for features. If your analysis
will depend on accurately modeling spatial relationships, creating topology is essential.
For example, if you are modeling a wastewater network, all of the features must be
connected or the results of any analysis based on your model will be flawed. Or, suppose
that your analysis involves calculating the total area for different types of land cover.
Gaps between land cover polygons will result in inaccurate totals.
There are three types of topology available in the geodatabase: geodatabase topology,
map topology, and the topology created for a geometric network. Each type of topology
is created from feature classes that are stored within a feature dataset. A feature class can
participate in only one topology at a time.
Geodatabase topology
A geodatabase topology is, to put it simply, a set of rules and properties that defines the
spatial relationships you want to model and preserve in your data. ArcGIS includes over
20 topology rules from which you can choose.
 Each topology rule applies to a particular
type of spatial relationship. For example,
Must Not Have Gaps is a topology rule
that defines a spatial relationship between
polygon boundaries.
To create and edit a geodatabase topology, you need an ArcEditor or ArcInfo license.
You can learn how to implement geodatabase topology in the Creating and Editing

Objects and the geodatabase

As you work with a geodatabase and read the documentation for it, you'll encounter terms
like "object" and "object class." If you're familiar with object-oriented programming,
you'll know what these terms mean. If you're not, a little explanation is in order.
As you might guess, object-oriented programming is all about objects. An object is a
structure that represents a single entity, including both its information and its behavior.
Another way to put it is that an object is made up of data and code which is treated as a
single "thing" by the software.
An object can be a house, a lake, a customer, or a maintenance record. In the
geodatabase, an object is stored as a row in a table (called an object class). An object has
a set of attributes. Attributes describe an object, and could be its name, a measure, or an
identifier to another object. Objects can also have behavior. For example, an object can
participate in a relationship or be constrained by limits on attribute values.
Object classes that store geometry are called feature classes. Object classes that store
relationships are called relationship classes.

Geodatabase Topology course.

Map topology
A map topology creates temporary topological relationships among features in one or
more feature classes in a geodatabase during an edit session in ArcMap. The ArcMap
topology editing tools are used to maintain these relationships while editing.
A map topology can be created and edited using ArcView, ArcEditor, or ArcInfo. You'll
learn how to work with map topology in Module 3 of this course.
Geometric network topology
In a geometric network, topological relationships are stored in the geodatabase and
maintained automatically by the software. In geodatabase and map topologies, spatial
relationships are not stored—they are "discovered" as needed (for example, when a
feature class is edited in ArcMap). In a geometric network topology, topological
relationships are established between point and line features only.
To create and edit a geometric network, you need an ArcEditor or ArcInfo license. You
will work with geometric networks in Module 5 of this course.

Concept

Geometric networks

In the real world, examples of networks abound: streams joining together to form larger
streams, pipes carrying water to homes and businesses throughout a city, and power lines
carrying electricity.
In a geodatabase, you can model each of these real-world networks with a geometric
network. Starting with simple point and line feature classes, you use ArcCatalog to create
a geometric network that will enable you to answer questions such as: Which streams will
be affected by a proposed dam? Which areas will be affected by a water main repair?
What is the quickest route between two points in the network?

A water transmission network is modeled in the

geodatabase using a geometric network.
When you build a geometric network, there are a number of options you can choose from
to make your network model more realistic. For example, you can:

• set the direction that resources will flow through the network

• assign weights that control the speed of flow through different parts of the
network
 • specify rules that control how each element in the network connects to the others

You'll learn about these and other options, as well as the different analyses you can
perform with a geometric network, in Module 5 of this course.

Concept

Relationship classes

In a geodatabase, relationship classes provide a way to model real-world relationships

that exist between objects such as parcels and buildings or streams and water sample
data. By using relationship classes, you can make your GIS database more accurately
reflect the real world and facilitate data maintenance.

The relationships stored in a relationship class can

be between two feature classes (such as buildings
and parcels, top) or between a feature class and a
nonspatial attribute table (such as streams and water
quality sampling data, bottom).
When you create a relationship class, you define the properties of the relationships.
Recall in the first exercise of this module, when you deleted some lots from the
subdivision, the homes located on the lots were also deleted automatically. This behavior
between the related objects was controlled by a relationship property.
You can also create rules to maintain valid relationships. For example, you could set up
rules that control how many buildings are allowed on parcels in different zoning areas.
Relationship classes are created in ArcCatalog. You will work with relationship classes in
Module 4 of this course.
Lesson summary

This module introduced you to some basic features of the geodatabase. A geodatabase is
a relational database that stores geographic data. There are two types of geodatabases:
personal and multiuser.
A personal geodatabase can be read by multiple people, but edited by only one person at
a time. Multiuser geodatabases can be read and edited by multiple users at the same time.
In this course, you will work with personal geodatabases in the exercises.
Geodatabases offer many advantages for GIS users. The range of functionality available
is extensive and includes centralized data storage, support for advanced feature geometry,
and more accurate data entry and editing through the use of subtypes, attribute domains,
and validation rules.
Feature classes, feature datasets, and nonspatial attribute tables are the primary
components of a geodatabase. Feature classes are collections of features that share the
same geometry type, attributes, and spatial reference. Feature classes can be grouped into
feature datasets. All feature classes in a feature dataset must share the same spatial
reference.
There are three different types of topology in the geodatabase: geodatabase topology,
map topology, and the topology created for a geometric network. Each topology type is
created from feature classes within a feature dataset. The nature of your analysis will
determine what type of topology, if any, you will need to create.
Now that you've had an introduction to geodatabases, you're ready to start exploring them
in more depth. In the next module, you learn how to create a personal geodatabase using
ArcCatalog.