Continuous Map is a means of storing a digital map as if it represented a continuous, unbroken surface. Many large GIS databases are broken into subfiles which represent smaller sections of a larger area. These separate subfiles are referred to as tiles or facets. A continuous map allows the user to move in any and all directions without moving from file to file. Maintaining the illusion of a continuous map in a computer is a challenging problem because, of course, computers typically store data in strings, in linear order, on magnetic or optical storage media.
