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I wonder if this is related to using space-filling curves for indexing: http://www.drdobbs.com/database/space-filling-curves-in-geospatial-appli/184410998 http

I wonder if this is related to using space-filling curves for indexing: http://www.drdobbs.com/database/space-filling-curves-in-geospatial-appli/184410998 http://www.drdobbs.com/database/space-filling-curves-in-geos... One of the professors at my institution is big in that field.

AlisdairO 11y ago
I'd imagine so - space filling curves are good for indexing multidimensional data like geospatial information, so the name is pretty telling.
jandrewrogers 11y ago
Common misconception. It is not related to space-filling curves. Space-filling curves are for linearizing points but have limited utility for interval data types. Technically though, all binary space decompositions can be described in terms of space-filling curves. However, for most kinds of space decomposition it is a mistake to use something describable on a fixed curve (e.g. Hilbert); the curve definitions are dynamically constructed and expressed in terms of a simple algebra. In extremely adaptive representations that squeeze as much information theoretic locality as possible out of the data model, those expressions can be pretty long but from a software standpoint you only need to reason about a local fragment of the expression at any point in the processing. In SpaceCurve, all points are represented as hyper-rectangles. Literally everything is a hyper-rectangle. It is the most unusual part of the whole thing. There is no linearization on a space-filling curve.
- shawn-butler 11y ago
  Why did you choose the name?
  - jandrewrogers 11y ago
    Honestly? Because I had been sitting on that domain name for years and couldn't find anything better. I have no idea why I originally registered it. :-) It was evocative while being vague. People only started associating it with space-filling curves in the last year or two once those started becoming trendy again among programmers.

AlisdairO 11y ago

I'd imagine so - space filling curves are good for indexing multidimensional data like geospatial information, so the name is pretty telling.

jandrewrogers 11y ago

Common misconception. It is not related to space-filling curves. Space-filling curves are for linearizing points but have limited utility for interval data types. Technically though, all binary space decompositions can be described in terms of space-filling curves. However, for most kinds of space decomposition it is a mistake to use something describable on a fixed curve (e.g. Hilbert); the curve definitions are dynamically constructed and expressed in terms of a simple algebra. In extremely adaptive representations that squeeze as much information theoretic locality as possible out of the data model, those expressions can be pretty long but from a software standpoint you only need to reason about a local fragment of the expression at any point in the processing. In SpaceCurve, all points are represented as hyper-rectangles. Literally everything is a hyper-rectangle. It is the most unusual part of the whole thing. There is no linearization on a space-filling curve.

shawn-butler 11y ago
Why did you choose the name?
- jandrewrogers 11y ago
  Honestly? Because I had been sitting on that domain name for years and couldn't find anything better. I have no idea why I originally registered it. :-) It was evocative while being vague. People only started associating it with space-filling curves in the last year or two once those started becoming trendy again among programmers.