CHAPTER 1

Introduction To GIS
 DEFINITIONS OF GIS
TOOLBOX-BASED DEFINITIONS

system of hardware, software and procedure designed to

support the capture, management, manipulation, analysis
modeling and display of spatially referred data for solving
complex planning and management problems.

Burrough, 1986
A powerful set of tools for collecting, storing, retrieving at
will, transforming and applying spatial data from the real
world.
Department of Environment, 1987
A system for capturing, storing, checking,
manipulating, analyzing and displaying data which are
spatially referenced to the Earth.

Parker, 1988
An information technology which stores, analyses and
displays both spatial and non-spatial data.
DATA BASED DEFINITIONS
GIS is defined as an integrated data base management system
in which large volumes of georeferenced spatial data derived
from a variety of sources is efficiently stored, organized,
manipulated, retrieved, analyzed and displayed or presented
according to the user defined specifications.

GIS is a special-purpose digital database in which a common

spatial coordinate system is the primary means of reference.
Comprehensive GIS requires a means of:
• Data input, from maps, aerial photos, satellites, surveys, and
other sources
• Data storage, retrieval, and query
• Data transformation, analysis, and modeling, including
spatial statistics
• Data reporting, such as maps, reports, and plans
Smith et al., 1987
A database system in which most of the data are
spatially indexed and upon which a set of procedures
operated in order to answer queries about spatial entities
in the database.

Aronoff, 1989
Any manual or computer based set of procedures used
to store and manipulate geographically referenced data.
ORGANIZATION BASED DEFINITIONS
Ozemoy, Smith and Sicherman, 1981
An automated set of functions that provides professionals
with advanced capabilities for the storage, retrieval,
manipulation and display of geographically located data.

Carter, 1989
An institutional entity, reflecting an organizational structure
that integrates technology with a database, expertise and
continuing financial support over time.

Cowen, 1988
A decision support system involving the integration of
spatially referenced data in a problem solving environment.
Basic Requirement for a GIS
Show locations of entities of type A

Show the location of entity A in relation to place B

Count the number of occurrences of entity type A within

distance D of entity type B

Evaluate function f at position X

Compute of size of B (area, perimeter)

Determine the result of intersecting or overlaying various

kinds of spatial data
Determine the path of the least cost, resistance or distance along the
ground from point X to Y over a network or a continuous surface

List the attribute s of entities located at points X1, X2

Determine which entities are next to entities having certain

combinations of the attributes

Knowing the value of z at point x1 , x2 , predict the value of z at point

y1, ……yn

Use numerical methods to derive new attributes from existing

attributes or new entities from existing entities

Using the digital data base as a model of the real world, simulate the
effect of process P over time T for a given scenario S
COMPONENTS OF A GIS
Computer Hardware
GIS Software
Proper Organizational Aspects
Partial List of Computer Hardware
Vendors
Personal Computers
IBM - RISC & NT systems
VAX 11/780
HP Visualize & NT
SUN SPARC, Ultras
Silicon Graphics O2, Octane, Onyx
Integraph Visual Workstations
GIS Software

provides the functions and tools needed to

store, analyze, and display geographic
information. Key software components are

• Tools for the input and manipulation of

geographic information
• A database management system (DBMS)
• Tools that support geographic query, analysis,
and visualization
• A graphical user interface (GUI) for easy
access to tools
Partial List of GIS Software
Popular Ones
• ESRI
• ARC/INFO
• ArcView GIS
• Atlas GIS
• IDRISI
• MapInfo
• GeoMedia

GRASS
• Arc/Info - Environmental Systems Research Institute
• ArcCAD - Environmental Systems Research Institute
• ArcView - Environmental Systems Research Institute
• Atlas*GIS - Strategic Mapping Inc.
• AutoCAD/ADE - Autodesk Inc.
• DigiCAD - Digital Matrix Services Inc.
• EPPL7 - Land Management Information Center
• EPPL7/EPIC - Land Management Information Center
• ERDAS - ERDAS Inc.
• ERDAS Imagine - ERDAS Inc.
• Eagle Point GIS - Eagle Point Software
• FMS - Facility Mapping Systems Inc.
• Framme - Intergraph Corp.
• GFIS
• GRASS - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Geo/SQL - Geo/SQL Corporation
• GeoWizard - Geographic Software Specialists Inc.
• Idrisi - Clark University
• InfoCAD - Digital Matrix Services Inc.
• KDMS - KORK Systems
• LT Plus
• MGE - Intergraph Corp.
• MIPS - MicroImages Inc.
• MapGrafix - ComGrafix Inc.
• MapInfo - MapInfo Corp.
• MapLinx
• MapViewer - Golden Software Inc.
• MicroStation - Intergraph Corp.
• PC Arc/Info - Environmental Systems Research
Institute
• PCGPS - Corvallis MicroTechnology
• PLIS - University of Minnesota Soil Science Dept.
• REMUS
• SSIS - University of Minnesota Soil Science Dept.
• Simplicity - Simplicity Systems Inc.
• Site Comp - Land Innovation Inc.
• Soil GIS - Soil Teq Inc.
• Surfer - Golden Software Inc.
• Ultimap - Geographic Software Specialists Inc.
• Vision - SHL Systemhouse
The main producers and sources
Topographical Mapping: National Mapping Agencies,
Private Mapping Companies, Land Registration and
Cadastre
Hydrographic Mapping
Military Organizations
Remote Sensing Companies and Satellite Agencies.
Natural Resource Surveys:-Geologists, Hydrologists,
Physical Geographers and Soil Scientists, Land Evaluators,
Ecologists and Bio-geographers; Meteorologists and
Climatologists, Oceanographers
What a GIS does and How?
GIS TASKS
General purpose GIS essentially perform
six processes or tasks:

• Input
• Manipulation
• Management
• Query
• Analysis
• Visualization
Input
➢ Most important component of a GIS.

➢ It could be:
✓ Geographic data
✓ Related tabular data

Before geographic data can be used in a GIS, the data must be

converted into a suitable digital format. The process of converting data
from paper maps into computer files is called ‘digitizing’.

Modern GIS technology can automate this process fully for large
projects using scanning technology; smaller jobs may require some
manual digitizing (using a digitizing table).

Today many types of geographic data

already exist in GIS-compatible formats.
These data can be obtained from data
suppliers and loaded directly into a GIS.
Thus,
➢ New geographic data can be entered into a GIS in
many different ways:
✓ Digitizing from a digitizer
✓ On screen digitizing
✓ GPS, Surveys data
✓ Scanned images
✓ Remote sensing data

➢ However, related attribute / tabular data is to be entered

manually.
Manipulation
➢ It is likely that data types required for a particular GIS
project will need to be transformed or manipulated in some
way to make them compatible with your system.

• For example, geographic information is available at different scales (street

centerline files might be available at a scale of 1:100,000; census
boundaries at 1:50,000, postal codes at 1:10,000, and surveyed points at
1:500).

• Before this information can be integrated, it must be referenced to the

same datum, projected in a consistent manner, and transformed to the
same scale.

• This could be a temporary transformation for display purposes or a

permanent one required for analysis.

➢ GIS technology offers many tools for manipulating spatial

data and for weeding out unnecessary data.
Some tools for data management

Dissolve - Aggregates features

having same attribute value

Merge – appends two or more

layers to single layer

Clip – cuts input layer

according to boundary of
overlay layer
 (continued…)
Intersect – cuts input layer with
features from overlay layer
- the out put will have attribute data
from both layers

▪ Union – combines input layer

with overlay layer
- Output contains attribute of two
layers + full extent of both layers
Management
➢ For small GIS projects, it may be sufficient to store geographic
information as simple files.

➢ However, when data volumes become large and the number of data
users becomes more than a few, special data management is needed.

➢ It is often best to use a database management system (DBMS) to help

store, organize, and manage data. A DBMS is nothing more than
computer software for managing a database.

➢ There are many different designs of DBMSs, but in GIS, the relational
design has been the most useful:
➢ In the relational design, data are stored conceptually as a collection of tables.

➢ Common fields in different tables are used to link them together.

➢ This surprisingly simple design has been so widely used primarily because of
its flexibility and very wide deployment in applications both within and
without GIS.
Query and Analysis
Once you have a functioning GIS containing your
geographic information, you can begin to ask simple
questions such as
• Who owns the land parcel on the corner?
• How far is it between two places?
• Where is land zoned for industrial use?

And analytical questions such as

• Where are all the sites suitable for building new
houses?
• What is the dominant soil type for oak forest?
• If I build a new highway here, how will traffic be
affected?
 GIS provides both simple point-and-click query capabilities and
sophisticated analysis tools to provide timely information to managers and
analysts alike.

GIS technology really comes into its own when used to analyze
geographic data to look for patterns and trends and to undertake "what if"
scenarios.

Modern GISs have many powerful analytical tools, but two are especially
important ones:

(i) Proximity Analysis

To answer such questions, GIS technology uses a process called buffering
to determine the proximity relationship between features.
• How many houses lie within 100 m of this water main?
• What is the total number of customers within 10 km of this
store?
• What proportion of the alfalfa crop is within 500 m of the
well?
Buffering
Buffers are the rings drawn
around feature at specified
distance from the feature

Application
- Creates a Buffer zone map
- A buffer zone is treated as a
protection zone and is used in
planning and regulation
(ii) Overlay Analysis
The integration of different data layers involves a process
called overlay. At its simplest, this could be a visual
operation, but analytical operations require one or more
data layers to be joined physically.

• For example, this overlay, or spatial join, can integrate data on

soils, slope, and vegetation, or land ownership with tax
assessment.
Visualization
For many types of geographic operations, the end result
is best visualized as a map or graph. Maps are very
efficient at storing and communicating geographic
information.

While cartographers have created maps for millennia,

GIS provides new and exciting tools to extend the art and
science of cartography. Map displays can be integrated
with reports, three-dimensional views, photographic
images, and other output such as multimedia.
Typical Areas of Application
Natural Resources Management
• wildlife habitat,
• wild and scenic rivers,
• recreation resources,
• floodplains,
• wetlands,
• agricultural lands,
• aquifers,
• forests.

Facilities Management
• locating underground pipes and cables,
• balancing loads in electrical networks,
 • planning facility maintenance,
• tracking energy use.

Land Management
• zoning and subdivision planning,
• land acquisition,
• environmental impact policy,
• water quality management,
• maintenance of ownership.

Street Networks
• address matching,
• location analysis or site selection,
• development of evacuation plans.
Certain Specific Applications
Agriculture
• Monitoring and management from farm to National
levels
Archaeology
• Site description and
• scenario evaluation
Environment
• Monitoring, modeling and management for
• land degradation
• land evaluation
• rural planning
• landslides,
 • de-sertification
• water quality and quantity
• plagues
• air quality
• weather and climate modeling and prediction
Epidemiology and Health
• Location of diseases in the relation to the
environmental factors
Forestry
• Management, planning and optimizing extraction
and replanting
Emergency Service
• Optimizing fire, police and ambulance routing
• improved understanding of crime and its location
Navigation
• Air, sea and land
Marketing
• Site location and target groups
• optimizing goods delivery
Real Estate
• Legal aspects of the Cadastre
• property values in relation to location, insurance
Regional/ Local Planning
• Development plans, costing, maintenance,
management
Road and Rail
• Planning and management
Site Evaluation and Costing
• Cut and fill
• Computing volumes of materials
Social Studies
• Analysis of demographic movement and
developments
Tourism
• Location and management of facilities and
attractions
Utilities
• Location, management and planning of water,
drains, gas, electricity, telephone, cable services