Research On Map Symbol Sharing Based On Usability Guidance

With the popularization of various map mapping software such as Geographic Information System(GIS)and vector graphics software,not only professional cartographers but also ordinary users can make maps.Under the background of the development of qualitative and quantitative research in various disciplines,the role of thematic maps has become more and more prominent,and the need for users to make thematic maps using map mapping software has become more and more urgent.However,the map symbols in the current cartographic software,especially the symbols of the graph types,are limited.At the same time,the map symbols(including chart symbols)support less visual variables(such as size,color,etc.),which makes it difficult for users to use thematic symbolization methods(such as chart Symbolization,graded symbolization,etc.).Researchers have proposed a variety of map symbol sharing methods.However,these methods focus on the sharing of map symbol data.The ability to support thematic symbolization methods is limited.Therefore,the usability of map symbols is low.Aiming at the defects of the current map symbol sharing method,this paper introduces the usability concept into the field of map symbol sharing,establishes the map symbol usability index,and builds a map symbol data model that takes into account usability based on these indicators,and further studies usability-guided map symbol sharing methods.The purpose is to increase the usability of map symbols through this method.The main research contents and achievements of this article are as follows:(1)Sharing-oriented map symbol usability indexes construction.Aiming at the problems of the current map symbol sharing method,this paper cuts in the usability concept and defines the usability of map symbols.The usability content of the map symbol is divided into three aspects:the validity of the map symbol,the drawing efficiency of the map symbol and the user satisfaction.According to the application requirements of users' thematic maps,the relationship between thematic maps methods and visual variables is studied and analyzed.Based on the relationship between the two,the content of map symbol usability is refined and the map symbol usability index is established.(2)Usability-guided map symbol model construction.The purpose of designing a map symbol model,which takes into account the usability,is to share the user's selected map symbols and make thematic maps,thus improving the usability of the map symbols.According to the proposed map symbol usability and corresponding usability index,a map symbol model with usability was designed by the PB symbol model.To solve the problem of fewer types of chart symbols in popular Geographic Information System(GIS)softwares,the methods which determine the types of primitives,determine the arrangement rules of primitives,apply visual variables,and adjust the symbol position construction of the chart symbol are proposed by summarizing and analyzing existing chart symbol construction methods.At the same time,we use surface symbols to fill the primitives of chart symbols,and construct a chart symbol data model that takes into account usability.(3)Usability-guided map symbol sharing method.According to the requirement of map symbol usability in symbol sharing,it elaborates the specific implementation methods which support users to create thematic maps from map symbol selection to map software.These methods include the use of usability indicators to guide users to select map symbols;based on the constructed map symbol data model to achieve the data sharing of map symbols.Based on the constructed map symbol data model,the map symbol drawing module and the thematic layer rendering module are designed in the mapping software to realize the user thematic map mapping,thereby improving the utilization and usability of the map symbols.