A read, append, prune (RAP) formalism for spatio-temporal information

In the land administration domain, there is a need for software applications that are capable of faithfully recording the history and state of national land resources, which are easily adaptable to meet varying needs that occur within and across jurisdictions, and which are easily evolvable to meet growing sophistication in the requirements and uses of such spatio-temporal information (see, for example, Van der Molen, 2002). The faithful recording of history includes the chronology and causes of changes to spatial and thematic value data, the full retention of data in the face of continuous updating, and the faithful representation of the many and widely varying and evolving concepts and practices underlying land, its use, and its associations with people, organisations and government.