Converting a NEXRAD Rainfall Map into a Flood Inundation Map by ...

having different formats and that are sequentially related can take advantage of aunique DSS data format and a library of subroutines to empower a seamless endto-endintegration like the one described herein with GIS as the gluing platform.Therefore, the current integration scheme herein described relies on thislibrary for the data exchange necessary for wiring together the external modelingcomponents involved in an automated floodplain delineation system.Thus, the library of subroutines that make up the DSS system empower itwith the ability to readily be used with other applications programs to enableexternal retrieval and storage of information. The previous concept of havingmethods (subroutines) in charge of doing specialized DSS tasks was a milestonefor interfacing abilities that 20 plus years later can be exploited by interfacingimplementations with various external systems including the present work.Data within a DSS file is stored in blocks (or records) and each record isidentified by a unique identifier called a pathname. Besides the data itself,information about the data (metadata) is stored in the pathname parts and also inan internal header containing the data type, units of the data, and so on. In thisway, through information contained in the pathname and the internal header, thedata is self-documented and no additional information is required to describe it.By having access to the pathname parts and the header, any external system mayhave access to the DSS records which implies that the information can berecognized and understood even years after it was stored.As mentioned before, a major component of the HEC-DSS database is thestructure of the pathname (the unique identifier label for each block of DSS data).81