Sticky Dialog Bar | Support | GIS Dictionary

A to Z GIS | Explore this related guide, featuring updated terms and graphics and developed in coordination with Esri’s GIS Dictionary team.

Learn more about A to Z GIS

GIS Dictionary

Browse dictionary

composition

URL copied Share URL
  1. [data models] An association in which the lifetime of the whole controls the lifetime of the parts. In a composition, the instances of two classes depend on each other; the whole controls the location and lifetime of its parts. For example, a digital map is composed of layers. When you move the map, the layers also move, and if you delete the map, its layers get deleted; therefore, the lifetime of these objects depend on one another.
  2. [cartography] The variety and quantity of patch types without consideration of the spatial arrangement of patches within a landscape mosaic.