Some observations on the issue of line generalisation

AbstractThis short article addresses some of the problems in cartographic generalisation, especially the mis-use of data point reduction algorithms for generalisation purpose. Special attention is paid to line generalisation. Through analysis, the author emphasizes that 'data reduction' is applied when the scale change is not of concern, while generalisation is applied due to the change in scales. Therefore, data point reduction algorithms should not be used for generalisation purposes. Also different benchmarks such as the manually generalised versions of existing maps should be used for the purpose of evaluating line generalisation algorithms instead of always using the original feature.