Glossary

Libraries are windows that appear when Cartes & Données is started. They enable cartographic processing modules to be inserted in documents (diagrams).

- "Box and whiskers"

This term is used for a graphic representation that gives statistical information in the form of a digital summary and a very rich graphic representation showing the variable under study, its dispersion, extreme values, etc. This enables us to take note of its distribution (homogeneous, dispersed, etc.), highlight certain phenomena, and choose classes accordingly. See the description of the Box and whiskers module in the reference manual.

- Color range

A color range map is a map in which the data are shown using ranges of colors (see the printed cartography manual).

- Insee Commune Code

The INSEE (French Statistical Agency) code of a commune is the unique identifier for a commune in France (not to be confused with its post code). It is made up of 5 digits, of which the first two are the number of the département and the other three are specific to the commune. It is this identifier that is used by the working maps showing the communes on the Carticque CD-ROM, and it is also used by Insee to supply population data, for example.

- Quantification

Quantification gives us the possibility of determining thresholds for statistical series so that they can be visualized using rasters or colors. Quantification enables statistical series to be divided up into classes depending on the desired processing: quantiles, nested averages, equal sizes, etc. See the description of the Quantification module in the reference manual.

- Continuous data

Continuous data represents a value (for example, the population of French départements). Its classic cartographic representation can be a proportional symbol.

- Discrete data

Discrete data represents a class (for example, 1 for a small population, 2 for an average population, 3 for a large population). The classic cartographic representation corresponds to ranges of colors. To represent continuous data in ranges of colors, it has to be "quantified", i.e. made discrete, and this entails creating classes. The quantification process is a technical necessity for linking data to a filling module and it is also very important for interpreting a phenomenon (cf. cartography manual).

- Diagram

A diagram is a "document" in Cartes & Données. It contains all the icons enabling cartographic processing to be carried out, with their parameters and their connections. It is this document that Cartes & Données Vision is able to read and display.

- Desktop Publishing

Computer assisted publishing. The most widespread desktop publishing programs are XPress, Illustrator, PageMaker, etc.

- Projection, generalization

A working map is defined by its system of coordinates (latitude/longitude, Lambert, etc.) that depends on the projection used to represent the globe on flat surfaces. Moreover, it is also characterized by its generalization, i.e. the number of points used to describe a segment or a polygon.

- Raster/Vectorial

These terms characterize various types of map files. A Raster map, or Bitmap, is an image, a matrix of colored points. There is thus no information on the coordinates, identifiers, surface areas, etc. These maps are used as a background for digitizing.

A vectorial map, on the other hand, is described by a set of polygons or other objects such as circles or curves, with all the coordinates, positions, sizes, identifiers, names, colors, etc., and sometimes even the system of projection used, the scale and the unit.

Thematic cartographic processing in Cartes & Données can only be carried out on a vectorial working map containing points, poly-lines, or polygons, with identifiers and in some cases, a name.

Export of your final maps, in WMF, PICT or Postscript format, produces a vectorial map, but here it is a finished map, not a working map. The file contains circles, colors, texts, etc., but no identifiers. This means that Cartes & Données cannot re-use it as a working map. However, page layout and vectorial drawing programs can read it, to modify each entity separately, remove elements, or add comments, etc. (See the import/export formats in the reference manual).

- Linear Regression

Linear regression enables us to study the relations between two quantitative characters by summing up the information obtained in the statistical distribution.

Let A and B be two statistical series: the use of a regression enables us to give an expression of the possible link between these two characters in the shape of a mathematical function. See the description of the regression module in the reference manual.

- DBMS

Database Management System enabling you to organize your data according to theme, sort the data, and make requests (e.g. Access, DBase, 4D, etc.).