| dc.description.abstract | Advances in technology continue to change the way geographic data is acquired, processed and applied. Specifically, advances in information and communication technology (lCT) continue to present new and innovative ways of handling and using geographic data in decision making. The main objective of this study was to develop a web-based spatial decision support system for water development and management The framework of the developed system is a hybrid structure model composed of clients and servers, which not only extends the capability of spatial decision support service space but also makes the system easy to use and maintain. The system was developed based on Open Source database software and web servers which offered a complete integration of spatial data types in a RDBMS.
This took advantage of the new generation of spatially enabled database systems to build 'faster, cheaper, smaller' GIS technology, coupled with data handling capabilities of new generation DBMS Strategic planning and appropriate development and management of water resources can be strongly assisted by accessibility to reliable spatial information. This research found out that the web can offer cost effective and reliable database systems and mapping applications which can be customized to meet the needs of decision makers in the water sector at low investment costs compared to costly commercial GIS software which are expensive and biased toward Geographic Information (GI) professionals | en |
