Mappable

Mappable describes something that can be represented on a map, or that can be subjected to a mapping between spaces or domains. In cartography, geospatial analysis, and related fields, something is considered mappable if it can be assigned coordinates, displayed at a geographic scale, and integrated with other spatial data.

In geographic information systems, mappable features include cities, rivers, roads, and administrative boundaries. The ability to map a feature depends on having precise location data, an appropriate coordinate reference system, and a suitable level of detail. Factors such as projection distortions, uncertainty, and privacy concerns can affect mappability.

In computing and data processing, mappable is often used to describe data or objects that can be transformed by map-style operations. For example, a collection of items may be described as mappable if a functional map operation can be applied to each element, producing a new collection. The concept is related to the broader idea of applying functions across data structures rather than a fixed geographic interpretation.

In genomics, mappability refers to the ability to align sequencing reads to a reference genome. Regions with repetitive sequences or close paralogs are less mappable, while unique sequences are highly mappable. Mappability influences read alignment, variant discovery, and the interpretation of coverage data, and is often quantified by region-specific scores.

The term also appears in data integration and ontology alignment to describe data that can be mapped to a common schema or standard. Etymology derives from map plus -able.