The boundary model in GIS is sometimes also called:

• A. Raster data model
• B. Object-oriented data model
• C. Vector data model
• D. Topological data model

Answer: (D)

The boundary model is all about how features are connected through their boundaries and the relationships they share, such as which features touch, share an edge, or contain one another. This focus on spatial relationships and how boundaries align is what gives rise to topology in GIS, so this approach is often called the topological data model. Topology preserves these relationships as data are edited, preventing gaps or overlaps that would violate adjacency or connectivity rules and making it easier to maintain accurate networks and boundaries. The other models describe space in different ways—raster uses a grid of cells, vector simply stores coordinates for geometric shapes, and object-oriented treats features as interrelated objects—but only the topological model centers on the boundary-based relationships that define how features truly relate in space.