Rethinking about the Information Age Cartography

Recently,the mapping industry have launched a discussion of information mapping systems that information cartography is an important part of the system and it is one of the main topics discussed in academic field,and a common view is that Currently,computer digital cartography has replaced the traditional manual simulation cartography and it is moving toward the development of information cartography.How to recognize and understand the information cartography? And what is the relationship between digital cartography and information cartography?How to develop and evolutes about information cartography? From the end of 1950s and the early of 1960s,with the appearance of the three theories(system theory,information theory and control theory)  and the development of computer and the application of remote sensing technology,the traditional cartography entered the information age,and this paper analyzes that the traditional cartography factors entered the information age and promotes it,and also analyzes the evolution of information age in the half a century in accordance with contradiction theory and practice theory,so we proposed three stages of significant hallmark about the development of information age cartography in the technical level,namely digital cartography,web cartography and intelligent cartography.Digital cartography is the primary stage of the information age cartography,that is the foundation,and web cartography is the bridge between the digital cartography and intelligent cartography in the network environment,and intelligent cartography is the advanced stage of the information age cartography and it is the improvement of the digital cartography and web cartography.