A preset rule assigns the cell to one or the other of adjacent fields, usually related to a relevant proportion of either field. The array of cells that comprise a field only approximate the field shape, but for most purposes the inaccuracy is tolerable for making calculations. Generally, grid cells are larger than the enclosed pixels in pictorial map displays, but the cluster of pixels within a polygon approximates the shape of the field. The relation of cells to pixels makes this raster format well adapted to digital manipulation. The size of a cell depends partly on the internal variability of the represented feature or property.
Smaller cells increase accuracy but also require more data storage.
Note that multiple data layers referenced to the same grid cell share this spatial dimensionality but have different coded values for the various attributes associated with any given cell. Permit rapid updating, allowing data changes with relative ease. Allow for multiple users and multiple interactions between compatible data bases. Retrieve, transform, and combine data elements efficiently. Search, identify, and route a variety of different data items and score these values with assigned weighted values, to facilitate proximity and routing analysis.