KB10830 - TatukGIS PixelStore Format

The PixelStore format is a TatukGIS specific image file storage system designed to efficiently, yet affordably, handle huge raster image layers. A Pixelstore image is one "virtual" tiled image, with the tiles organized into a SQL database hierarchy. Images stored to the PixelStore format are divided into 512x512 pixel tiles, with each tile compressed independently. Any single map view is derived from the level of the hierarchy which most closely matches the actual scale. Only very few tiles must be fetched from the database to present any single screen view (resulting in maximum speed). The file type and compression level within a PixelStore file can be i) 8 or 24 bit JPEG compression for gray scale and unlimited color aerial photos or ii) 1, 4, 8, or 24 bit PNG (lostless) compression for scanned maps and images with limited colors.

The PixelStore system can efficiently handle image files of practically any size, limited only by the limitations of the database product and the size of the hard disk. The PixelStore system works by default with the Microsoft® Jet Engine, which is standard in the Windows® O/S, but the PixelStore storage can be configured to any supported SQL server database product using ADO/ODBC or DBX interfaces. For guidance on setting up the PixelStore configuration to an SQL server database product, refer to Knowledge Base item KB10649.

The PixelStore system is supported in the TatukGIS Developer Kernel (DK) and Internet Server (IS) products, in any final user application created from the DK, the TatukGIS Editor, TatukGIS Aerial Imagery Corrector, and TatukGIS free GIS Viewer. Even the free GIS Viewer can be used to create PixelStore image files. No special licensing is required by TatukGIS to create and use PixelStore images.

A PixelStore file can be identified by its *.TTKPS file extension.