THE TIGER DATA-BASE STRUCTURE

Automated mapping requires a digital data source for map production. The files comprising the Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) System are the data source for all maps produced to support the 1990 decennial census. These files constitute a data base of national extent. The TIGER data base may be viewed at two levels, the conceptual level and the implementation level. The conceptual level provides the theoretical basis for the structure of the partition files comprising the data base, as well as an explanation of the relationships among the basic spatial objects. The implementation level reveals how the data base is organized as a specific network-oriented file structure within a general purpose file management system. Understanding the TIGER data base is necessary to comprehend its full capacity as a cartographic source, and to appreciate the reasons behind the design decisions that shaped the Census Bureau's fully automated field map production system and its computer-assisted publication map production system. © 1990 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.