In 1974, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory made an early attempt at automatically creating geospatial data when it published MAPEDIT, a software that could read map images and automatically digitize polygons from them. The 1977 workbook for the MAPEDIT software shown here includes a printed list of commands that users could execute by typing into a computer terminal. One such command—HBOMB, which “Obliterates all island points in all map items on the geocode list”—serves as a reminder of how software systems can borrow from, and reproduce aspects of, real-world geographical conflicts.
Work Book III
| Title | p. 137, from “Work Book III - Computer Mapping Systems - Programs: MAPEDIT-DOBEDO-CARTE” |
| Creator | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory |
| Year | 1977 |
| Location | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory |