GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM

Unit 1
Fundementals of GIS

Date: 25/06/2019
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 Geographic Information
System (GIS)

□ A system designed to capture,

store, manipulate, analyze,
manage, and present all types
of geographically
referenced data
 Basic definition of GIS
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• G (Geography) - a particular form of Information System applied to

geographical data (location, co-ordinates, maps etc..)

• I (Information) S (System) is a set of processes, executed on raw data, to

produce information which will be useful in decision-making
 GIS Process

Capture
Data

Register
Map Base

Interpret
Store Data Data
in Computer Convert Data
to Digital
Process Format
Data
Display
Results
 GIS – Data Layers Stacking

NDVI From Aerial

Image
Nitrogen Availability
Estimate from
Aerial Photo
pH Layer

Geographic
Information Courtesy of PPI
System
 Origin of GIS
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Computer Aided
Cartography
(CAC)

Remote Sensing
Database
(RS) Integrated Technologies
Management
Systems
GIS
(DBMS)

Computer Aided Design/

Drafting
(CAD)
 Softwares
GIS Digital Image
 ARC INFO Processing
 ArcGIS
 ERDAS Imagine
 MapInfo
 ER Mapper
 GRASS
 ILWIS
 Geomedia
 ENVI
 Geoconcept
 PCI Geomatica
 WIN GIS
 ArcView image analysis
 Microstation
 TNTMIPS
 AutoCAD
 Ecognition
 GIS Components

Five key components of GIS:

Hardware
Software
Data
People
Method
Hardware
 Internal
users input analysis

Internal
data Data
base management

Internal
External management
GIS
management
output
data
base

External
user

External
data
base
FUNFUNCT
CTIONS
ION
SOFGIS
 Application of GIS

• GIS used in multiple disciplines:

Agriculture
Archaeology Geography
Architecture/Landscape Arch. Geology
Business Meteorology
Computer Science Oceanography
Environmental Science Law Enforcement
Engineering Public Health
Journalism History
Military Science Sociology
Natural Resource Management Urban/Regional Planning
 Some Definitions

Definitions of a GIS and the groups who find them useful

A container of maps in digital form

A computerised tool for solving geographical problems

A mechanised inventory of geographically distributed features and

facilities
A tool for revealing what is otherwise invisible in geographical
information
A tool for performing operations on geographical data more efficiently

A spatial decision support system

 Supporting Technologies and Disciplines

Geography
understanding the world and man’s place in it
Cartography-art of map making
display of spatial information
Remote Sensing
images from space and air
Photogrammetry
accurate measurement from photographs
Surveying
high quality positional data
Geodesy- shape of the earth
accurate positional data (control points)
Statistics
GIS models are often statistical in nature
Computer Science
e.g. CAD, database management
Math
especially geometry and graph theory
 Why a GIS
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 Old Records/maps are poorly maintained

 Poorly Updated

 Inaccurate

 No Sharing

 No data retrieval service for maps

 Benefits of GIS
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Once a GIS is implemented, following benefits

are expected:
 Better Maintained data
 Standard format
 Easy revision,
 Easy updation
 Easy Units conversion
 Easy to share
 Easier to search, analyze and represent
 Many value added products
 Enhance productivity of staff
 Time and Money saved
 Better Decision making
 Examples of geographical problems

• Government: where to locate public facilities (e.g. schools, hospitals and

police stations)?

• Transportation: where to build the new highway that serves most critical
bottleneck of the road network?

• Commercial: where to build new shops or good distribution centres that

make most cost effective services?

• Travelers: where am I and how can I travel from Madurai to

kanyakumari?

• Country park management: where to locate ring roads in Nagercoil

that provide the best scenery for driving at different levels with the
minimum impact on the environment?
BASIC FUNCTIONS OF GIS

• DATA AQUISITION AND

PREPROCESSING

DIGITIZING EDITING

TOPOLOGY BUILDING

PROJECTION ATTRIBUTION
 ADVANTAGES OF GIS IN SIMPLE TERMS

• Though collection of data is difficult once it is

collected, it can be stored safely in digital form
(in computer) forever without damage, which
usually happens to our maps.

• Once if a map is prepared accurately it can be

printed in any scale without any redrawing.

• Large scale maps at smaller units (Beats) level

can be joined for creating maps at divisions or
district level, very accurately within few minutes.
Changes can be incorporated very easily in computer
and it doesn’t require any redrawing.

Same map can be generated even after 100s of years

later.

New things can be known after overlay of different

themes and a new types of maps can be generated.

 Work can be done faster than manually.

The work of decision makers and end users will

become easier.
Limitations of GIS

□ Data are expensive

□ Shows spatial relationships but does not provide

absolute solutions

□ Origins in the Earth sciences and computer

science.

□ Solutions may not be appropriate for humanities

research
What can maps display?

Roads
Rivers
Urban areas
Place names
Railway
Places of interest
Town names
Geographic Coordinate Systems

Geography – The study of where features are located on

the Earth’s surface.

Geographic coordinate systems

latitude
longitude

- Represent exact positions on the Earth

- 42.3216, -71.089118

Georeferencing / Geocoding – The process of assigning

geographic coordinates to features to represent their
location.
 Types of Coordinate Systems

(1) Global Cartesian coordinates (x,y,z) for the whole earth

(2) Geographic coordinates (f, l, z)
(3) Projected coordinates (x, y, z) on a local area of the
earth’s surface
The z-coordinate in (1) and (3) is defined geometrically; in
(2) the z-coordinate is defined gravitationally
Introduction to Open Source GIS
 What is Open Source SW?

 Open source SW(OSS) is the computer SW that is available in source code form under certain licenses.
 Users of OSS are permitted to use, copy, study, change, improve and even redistribute those OSS freely.
 ‘Free’ does not mean ‘Free of Charge’ but ‘Freedom’ or‘Liberty’

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SW Models – Cathedral vs.
 Open Source Software Development Model
Bazaar <Closed Development> <Open Development>

Cathedral Bazaar

In-House Collaborative
Development Development

Leverage own knowledge Leverage others knowledge too

 Designed and developed by inside R&D lab  Designed and developed with other outside partners
 Inside knowledge, intellectual property, experiences  Inside knowledge + outside knowledge

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 Benefits of Open Source SW

 Benefits of Open Source Software

 Empower people, save money, save resources, increase stability, access to source code, access to skilled
community of developers

1. Technological 2. Economical 3. Business 4. Other

Aspects Aspects Aspects Aspects

Rapid development of high- Very low adoption cost Extend company’s Reduce energy
class SW products portfolio
Reduce SW development Self-Satisfaction
Increased stability by skilled cost Open up new market by
community review providing diversified Help society
Easy to customize services & products
Reduce technological gap
to leading proprietary SW Reuse successful story Improve brand image of
company company

Internalize outside SW
developer resources

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Reasons Why Select Open Source

1 Quality

Ease of Deployment 3

2 Security

Source Code Access 4

Source: BlackDuck Software, http://www.slideshare.net/blackducksoftware/2014-future-of-open-source-survey-results

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 What is Open Source GIS?

 Open Source GIS

• FOSS4G : Free Open Source Software for Geo-Spatial
• GeoFOSS : Geospatial Free Open Source Software

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Why Open Source GIS?

Necessity

Want to meet lots of needs of GIS from public sectors

Want More with Less!!

Want to replicate other people & institution’s

experience

Want to manage & modify the system by ourselves!!

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 Advance of • Open Source GIS is now comparable with commercial proprietary GIS
Open Source
GIS • Open Source GIS is now actively adopted & used all around the world

• Open Source GIS is basically free.

Cost Reduction
• The price of commercial Open Source GIS is lower than proprietary one

• Almost all the Open Source GIS is compliant with OGC standards
Interoperability
• Open Source GIS can be used with existing proprietary GIS

Opened • Anybody can modify & upgrade the system from the source code level
Source Code • Can easily replicate or migrate success cases to their system

• Collaboration, sharing & community based SW development model

Collaboration • Source code will be managed by community not by company

based SW • Neutrality from specific technology or company
• Anybody can join and contribute to Open Source GIS with OSGeo

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 Proprietary software is computer software
licensed under exclusive legal right of thecopyright
holder

 The licensee is given the right to use the software

under certain conditions, while restricted from other
uses, such as modification, further distribution, or
reverse engineering.

 Proponents of free and open source software use

proprietary or non- free to describe software that is not
free or open source.

 In the software industry, commercial software

refers to software produced for sale, which is a
related but distinct categorization.
Limitations:

 License agreements do not override applicable

copyright law or contract law. Provisions that conflict
may not be enforceable
 The owner of proprietary software exercises certain
exclusive rights over the software.
 The owner can restrict use, inspection of source code,
modification of source code, and redistribution.
 Data Types in GIS

The data in a GIS can be classified into two main

categories:
1. Spatial data
Describes the absolute and relative location of
geographic features.
2. Attribute dataor Non-spatial data
Describes characteristics of the spatial features.
These characteristics can be quantitative and/or
qualitative in nature.
 Attributes
Attributes can be numeric or alfa numeric data
that is assigned to a point, line or area spatial
features
Example Attributes…
Stand ID, Compartment no,Vegetation
type, Name of the Forest Block,Type of
Road etc.,
 Attributes
Description or characteristic of a feature
• Possible attributes for the feature Tree
– Height
– Diameter
– Species
– Condition
– Age
 Attribute Values
The value given to an attribute
• Possible values for the attributes of a
Tree feature
– Height = 15m
– Diameter = 0.75m
– Species = Oak
– Condition = Good
– Age = 8 years
Attribute Model Types
Tabular Model
Hierarchical Model
Relational Model
Network Model
Object-Oriented Model
 Data models for GIS (Spatial Data)

Vector (Object-Based)
SPATIAL DATA
Raster (Field-Based)
 Discrete Data

Data that can only take certain values.

For example: the number of students in a class

(you can't have half a student).
 A discrete object
• Has identifiable boundaries

• Is relevant to some intended application

• Is describable by one of more attributes

(characteristics)
 Continuous Data

Data that can take any value (within a range)

Examples: heights. People's heights could be

any value (within the range of human heights),
not just certain fixed heights.
 Maps and
Plans
Digital data Paper files

Data

GIS

Data
Data

Photogrammetry Interviews

Data

Remote Sensing Field survey

GIS Data Sources

 GIS and DSS
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 GIS is usually an important component of

modern Decision Support Systems (DSS)
 DSS components:
□ Data Base
□ Statistical Analysis
□ Numerical Model
□ Input and output facility
 USE OF GIS as DSS
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Driving Forces:
Population,
Decision Making:
Health, Wealth,
Planning and Management
Technology,
Politics, Economic

Human Impacts: Development,

Analysis and Assessment by GIS Urbanization, Industrialization,
Construction, Energy Use

Environmental Change:
Land use Change,
Monitoring By
Change of Life Style,
Remote Sensing
Land Degradation,
Pollution, Climate Change
 GIS Software
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 ESRI: ARC/INFO, ARC VIEW, ARC GIS

 Intergraph: MGE
 Grass Information Centre: GRASS*
 Clark University: IDRISI
 AUTODESK: ARC MAP
 ILWIS: Integrated Land and Water Information System.

http://grass.osgeo.org/ http://www.clarklabs.org/products/idrisi-taiga.cfm
 Lets starts
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Basics of
GIS
 Basic Geographical Concepts
21 Spatial Objects

One of the most common

products of a GIS is a map
Points

Line/
node

Global to local Polygon

/chain
 Basic Geographical Concepts
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 Spatial Object: Delimited Geographical areas, with a number of

different kind of associated attributes

 Point: A spatial object with no area. A key attribute is its geodetic

location. Many Attributes can be associated with a Point

 Line: A spatial object, made up of a connected sequence of points. Lines

have no width, thus a specified location will be on one side of a line or
other, but never on a line.

 Nodes: Special kinds of points showing start, end and junction of line
segments.

 Polygon: A closed Area. Simple Polygons are undivided areas, while

complex polygons are divided into areas of different characteristics.

 Chains: Special kinds of line segments, which corresponds to a portion

of the bounding edge of polygon.
 Basic Geographical Concepts
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Parcels: The allotment of some amount by dividing something

 Basic Geographical Concepts
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 Scale
□ Ratio of distance on map (or image) to their true length on the earth’s
surface
□ Large Scale: A scale is relatively large, if the area or length represented
on map (or image) is large
□ Small Scale: A scale is relatively small, if the area or length represented
on map (or image) is small
□ e.g.

1:10,000 is large scale as compared to 1:100,000.

 Resolution
□ Refers to minimum size of the element which we can distinguish on a map.
□ For Raster Maps, it is size of cell
□ For Maps, it is
= (Area/No of elements)^0.5
□ Higher the resolution, more information are available.
□ RESEL=Resolution Element
 Basic Geographical Concepts
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 Basic Geographical Concepts
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 Attributes
□ Pertinent (important) information of geospatial data.
e.g. if a line is representing a road through geographic data (Lat., Long. or
Easting , Northing), then its helping information such as width, condition,
name, metaled or un-metaled etc. are its attributes.
□ Only those attributes should be selected/acquired which might be
required in the analysis.
 GIS data model (Database management systems-DBMS )
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 A GIS stores information about the world as a collection of thematic layers

that can be linked together by geography
 The basic data type in a GIS reflects traditional data found on a map
 Spatial data
□ describes the absolute and relative location of geographic features.

 Attribute data
□ describes characteristics of the spatial features. These characteristics can
be quantitative and/or qualitative in nature. Attribute data is often
referred to as tabular data.
 SPATIAL DATA MODELS
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 Three basic types of spatial data models have evolved for storing geographic
data digitally. These are referred to as:

 Raster;
 Vector;
 Image.

Image data utilizes techniques very similar to raster data, however typically lacks the
internal formats required for analysis and modeling of the data
 Raster data models
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 Raster data models incorporate the use of a grid-cell data structure where the
geographic area is divided into cells identified by row and column.
 For digital representations of aerial photographs, satellite images, scanned
paper maps, and other applications with very detailed images.

 A raster data structure is in fact a matrix where any coordinate can be quickly
calculated if the origin point is known, and the size of the grid cells is known
 Vector Data models
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 Vector storage implies the use of vectors (directional lines) to represent a

geographic feature. Vector data is characterized by the use of sequential
points or vertices to define a linear segment. Each vertex consists of an X
coordinate and a Y coordinate.
 Vector lines are often referred to as arcs and consist of a string of vertices
terminated by a node.
 Geometry and Topology of Vector data
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The most popular method of retaining spatial relationships among features is to

explicitly record adjacency information in what is known as the topologic data
model
The topologic data structure is often referred to as an intelligent data structure

Topology is a mathematical concept that has its basis in the principles of feature adjacency and connectivity
 Image Data models
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 Image data is typically used in GIS systems as background display data (if
the image has been rectified and georeferenced); or as a graphic attribute
 Image data must be converted into a raster format (and perhaps vector) to
be used analytically with the GIS
 Attribute data models
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 Attribute data refers to pertinent information attached to each geo-spatial

data. A variety of different database models exist for the storage and
management of attribute data. The most common are:
1. Tabular (Outdates in GIS !), 2. Hierarchial
3. Network 3. Relational
5. Object Oriented
The hierarchical database organizes data in a tree structure. Data is
structured downward in a hierarchy of tables.
The network database organizes data in a network or plex structure. Any
column in a plex structure can be linked to any other
The object-oriented database model manages data through objects.
An object is a collection of data elements and operations that together are
considered a single entity.
The object-oriented database is a relatively new model. This approach has
the attraction that querying is very natural, as features can be bundled
together with attributes at the database administrator's discretion.
Note

 A separate data model is used to store and maintain attribute data for GIS
software.
 These data models may exist internally within the GIS software, or may be
reflected in external commercial Database Management Software (DBMS)
 Attribute database models
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Examples of object-
oriented data model
Hierarchial and network database models have not gained any noticeable acceptance
for use within GIS
 Attribute data models
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 A relational database organizes data in tables. Each table, is identified by a

unique table name, and is organized by rows and columns. Each column within
a table also has a unique name.

UNIQUE DOMINANT AVG. TREE STAND SITE STAND AGE

STAND COVER HEIGHT INDEX
NUMBER GROUP
001 DEC 3 G 100
002 DEC-CON 4 M 80
003 DEC-CON 4 M 60
004 CON 4 G 120

The relational database model is the most widely accepted for managing
the attributes of geographic data.
 Relational Attribute model
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Basic linkages between a vector spatial data (topologic model) and attributes maintained
in a relational database file (From Berry)
 Relational Attribute model
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 Attribute data consists of qualitative or quantitative data. Qualitative data

specify the types of object, while quantitative data can be categorized into
ratio data, data measured in relation to a zero starting point; interval data,
data arranged into classes; and ordinal data, which specify quality by using
text.
 Choice between raster and vector data
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 ‘Which is best? depends in 4 issues

□ coordinate precision
□ speed of analytical processing
□ mass storage requirements
□ characteristics of phenomena

Choice between raster and vector data

 Spatial Data Layers (layers)
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 Data on different themes are stored in separate “layers”

 As each layer is geo-referenced layers from different sources can easily be
integrated using location
 This can be used to build up complex models of the real world from widely
disparate sources

The definition of data layers is fully dependent

on the area of interest and the priority needs
of the GIS. Layer definitions can vary greatly
depending on the intended needs of the GIS
 Required Data Sources for GIS
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 As data acquisition or data input of geospatial data in digital format is most

expensive (about 80% of the total GIS project cost) and procedures are time
consuming in GIS
 Advantages of Raster data
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 The geographic location of each cell is implied by its position in the cell
matrix. Accordingly, other than an origin point, e.g. bottom left corner, no
geographic coordinates are stored.
 Due to the nature of the data storage technique data analysis is usually easy
to program and quick to perform.
 The inherent nature of raster maps, e.g. one attribute maps, is ideally suited
for mathematical modeling and quantitative analysis.
 Discrete data, e.g. forestry stands, is accommodated equally well as
continuous data, e.g. elevation data, and facilitates the integrating of the two
data types.
 Grid-cell systems are very compatible with raster-based output devices, e.g.
electrostatic plotters, graphic terminals.
 Disadvantages of Raster data
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 The cell size determines the resolution at which the data is represented.;
 It is especially difficult to adequately represent linear features depending on
the cell resolution. Accordingly, network linkages are difficult to establish.
 Processing of associated attribute data may be cumbersome if large amounts
of data exists. Raster maps inherently reflect only one attribute or
characteristic for an area.
 Since most input data is in vector form, data must undergo vector-to-raster
conversion. Besides increased processing requirements this may introduce data
integrity concerns due to generalization and choice of inappropriate cell size.
 Most output maps from grid-cell systems do not conform to high-quality
cartographic needs.
 Advantages of Vector data
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 Data can be represented at its original resolution and form without

generalization.
 Graphic output is usually more aesthetically pleasing (traditional cartographic
representation);
 Since most data, e.g. hard copy maps, is in vector form no data conversion is
required.
 Accurate geographic location of data is maintained.
 Allows for efficient encoding of topology, and as a result more efficient
operations that require topological information, e.g. proximity, network
analysis.
 Disadvantages of Vector data
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 The location of each vertex needs to be stored explicitly.

 For effective analysis, vector data must be converted into a topological
structure. This is often processing intensive and usually requires extensive data
cleaning. As well, topology is static, and any updating or editing of the vector
data requires re-building of the topology.
 Algorithms for manipulative and analysis functions are complex and may be
processing intensive. Often, this inherently limits the functionality for large data
sets, e.g. a large number of features.
 Continuous data, such as elevation data, is not effectively represented in
vector form. Usually substantial data generalization or interpolation is
required for these data layers.
 Spatial analysis and filtering within polygons is impossible
 Comparison b/w raster and vector data
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 Assignment
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 Thank you !
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Comments….
Questions….
Suggestions….

I am greatly thankful to all the information sources

(regarding remote sensing and GIS) on internet that I
accessed and utilized for the preparation of present
lecture.