In the previous section, you learned how to optimize vector data storage. In this section, you'll learn how to do so for raster data. First, we'll cover a few concepts regarding the processing of raster data. We'll learn about some ways of preparing data using the command-line utility GDAL. Finally, we'll take a quick look at the WCS OGC service offered by GeoServer. Imagery and analysis grids are examples of raster data. Raster processing is a set of operations that are used to make grid data more useful. The following diagram contains a high-resolution photograph of a cat on the left-hand side:
We have to zoom in pretty close before we can start to see pixels. Resolution refers to the number of pixels or grid cells per square inch, or some other unit of linear measure. Each of these pixel cells contains a number, which is then...