3.3 Landscape representation

3.3.2 Visualization

Since a model for the representation of the landscape and of the resources has been established, we can now put into final form by giving a simple scheme for their visualization on a color medium.

For this purpose, we can model the visualization medium, for a RGB color model,[13] as composed of three planes. Each plane corresponds to one color channel, i.e. the red, green and blue channels, which control the intensity of each color. Then, for a 2.5-dimensional[14] representation, we can assign, for example, to a visualization media

the following values:

with , , and being
,
,

where denotes the number of links of the resources represented on a given pixel, thus
,
the number of resources represented on a single pixel:
,
and an empirically determined value corresponding to the directory level found in the URLs.

[13] The RGB model is used here for simplicity. Other color models, like HSV (Hue, Saturation, and Value), resemble more closely the real color system and should be used instead.
[14] The color represent here the additional half dimension.
Cyberspace geography visualization - 15 October 1995

Luc Girardin, The Graduate Institute of International Studies