Structural-graphic modelling is considered: concept, connections, classification and application in cartographic research. The principles of modelling in cartography (the possibility of using maps using common epistemological categories; the use of general scientific methods of modelling and rational forms and variants of contacts with other types of modelling; the etymology of the term indicates the place of cartographic modelling as a means of research in the general system of cognition).
The functions of structural-graphical modelling are defined. Functions of structural and graphical modelling are determined, and they are investigated, which allow: to carry out the selection of existing maps necessary for research; identify elements of systems that have not yet been mapped; determine the topic of maps and their placement within the complex cartographic works; use maps of other elements of the system when creating a series of maps of each specific element; ensure that the maps of this element are those of other elements; change the complex maps and their groups; determine the main columns of tables for collecting information in relational or electronic databases; identify sections of map legends; present legends in the form of graphical link models of lower-ranking system elements.
Spatial modeling is investigated, the types and models of real-world spatial models are substantiated and identified, in particular: analogue (an analog model is defined as a large-scale model, representation of the real-world system, in which each part of the real system is modeled in miniature, very popular analog models of the real world are paper topographic, geographic and thematic maps); digital models (all operations are carried out using a computer, data is collected in the data model and encoded using different coding schemes that reduce the relevant aspects of the real world to structures of zeros and ones); discrete (models imitate the processes that occur between discrete entities, such as the forces acting between celestial bodies and controlling their movement, or the behavior of humans or animals when they interact in space); continuous models (on the other hand, are models in terms of variables that are continuous space functions, for example, atmospheric pressure or temperature, soil acidity or humidity. The concept of a continuous field describes the geographic world with a series of continuous maps, each of which represents the changes of a definite variable over the surface of the Earth); individual (you can model any system with a set of rules on the mechanical behavior of the main objects of the system); aggregate models (approach is to merge (aggregate) individual objects into a single whole and model the system through the behavior of these aggregates); static model (models can be static if the input and output are the same at the same time point, or dynamic, if the output represents a later time point than the input); dynamic models (dynamic models, on the other hand, constitute a process that changes or transforms some aspects of the Earth’s surface over time); cellular vending machines (in cellular automaton spatial variations are represented as a raster of fixed resolution, each cell of which is assigned one of a finite set of certain states); agent models (agent model is a series of interacting active objects that reflect objects and relationships in the real world, from the point of view of practical application, agent modeling can be defined as a modeling method that investigates the behavior of decentralized agents and how this behavior determines the behavior of the whole system as a whole).
