- Theory or mathematical model of features in space
- Mechanism that allows features in the same or different feature classes to share geometry
- Set of editing tools that works with features in an integrated fashion
- Physical data model for feature data
- Set of validation rules for geographic features
- Mechanism for navigating between features using topological relationships
Topology is primarily used in order to ensure that data has been entered cleanly and accurately. A variety of editing tools ca be used to achieve this such as snapping of features to each other, validation tools and the setting of topological rules. Topology essentially allows the user to edit and view features in a way that supports the relationships between different feature classes.
The characteristics of topology are defined within ArcCatalogue and follow the following rules:
- Topology can contain multiple point, line and polygon feature classes oritented onto a 2D plane
- All features must have the same spatial reference within the data set
- Multiple topologies can exist within the data set
- Features can only be associated with one topology
- Features cannot be associated with both a topology and a geometric network
Sources:
ArcGIS: Working with Geodatabase Topology
http://www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/geodatabase-topology.pdf
Understanding Topology and Shapefiles
http://www.esri.com/news/arcuser/0401/topo.html
