GIS: An introduction

GIS refers to three integrated parts

• 1. Geographic: The geographical location of the real world (coordinate
system)
• 2. Information: The database
• 3. Systems: The hardware and software
GIS Description
• A GIS is a computer-based tool that helps us visualize information
with patterns and relationships that aren’t otherwise apparent. The
ability to ask complex questions about data and analyze many
features at once, then instantly see the results on a map is what
makes GIS a powerful tool for creating information.
• GIS can be used in many disciplines such as resource management,
criminology, urban planning, marketing, transportation, etc.
• Primarily GIS is used for scientific analysis but is now being
implemented in other disciplines.
What Can a GIS Do?
• A GIS performs six fundamental operations that make it a useful tool
for finding solutions to real-world problems.
• 1. Capture data: You can add data from many sources to a GIS, and
you can also create your own data from scratch.
• 2. Store data: You can store and manage information about the real
world in ways that makes sense for your application.
• 3, Query data: You can ask complex questions about features based
on their attributes or their location and get quick results.
• 4. Analyze data: You can integrate multiple datasets to find features
that meet specific criteria and create information useful for problem
solving.
• 5. Display data: You can display features based on their attributes, a
powerful feature you’ll come to appreciate.
• 6. Present data: You can create and distribute high-quality maps,
graphs, and reports to present your analysis results in a compelling
way to your audience.
GIS is a computerized system that deals
with spatial data in terms of the following:
• 1. Storage: Digital and database storage.
• 2. Management of Data: Integration of the database into the GIS
system.
• 3. Retrieval: The capacity to view the various database data formats.
4. Conversion: Convert different sets of data from one form to
another.
• 5. Analysis: Manipulating data to produce new information. 6.
Modeling: Simplifying the data and its process.
• 7. Display: Presenting the output works.
Organization
• GIS is a complete system that consists of sophisticated hardware and
software. It performs many integrated functions:
• 1. GIS accepts data from multiple sources, which can be in a variety of
formats. For example, if you are dealing with ArcGIS you can work not
only with Shapefile, but also with Coverage (ARC/INFO format),
Geodatabase, DXF (AutoCAD format), DBS (database system), and
other types of database and digital formats.
• 2. Data types include the following: • Maps (Tiff, Jpeg, etc.) • Images
from aircraft and satellite • Global Positioning System (GPS):
(Coordinates, elevation) • Text data (report and text) • Tabular data
(excel file)
GIS Infrastructure
• 1. Hardware: The machine where the GIS can be run (computer,
digitizer, plotter, printer).
• 2. Software: The program needed to run the GIS (ArcGIS and its
extensions)
• 3. Data: The digital and database (information)
• 4. Organization and People: This is the most important part of the GIS
structure.
• The GIS is too important and so costly that it cannot be considered
just equipment. It requires organization and staff to utilize this
technology. Unfortunately many organizations treat the GIS as
equipment rather than an important analysis tool.
Geographic Information Systems

IDRISI

ILWIS

ARC/
INFO

PEOPLE
GIS SOFTWARE

POLICY AND
PROCEDURES
FOR
RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

HARDWARE DATA
 GIS Historical Development

Computer Science Earth Science

Geography
CAD/CAM Remote Sensing

Spatial
Military Studies GIS Mathematics

Cartography Urban Planning

Surveying and
Civil Engineering
Photogrammetry
 Wh y G I S?

 70% of the information includes some

geographical facts in the decision-making
process

 Ability to assimilate divergent sources of

data both spatial and non-spatial
(attribute data)

 Visualisation impact

 Sharing of information

 Analytical capability in a spatial context

 Components of
GIS

GIS ABSTRACTION
OR
SIMPLIFICATION

USERS
SOFTWARE
TOOLS + DATABASE

THE REAL WORLD

RESULTS
 FOUR Ms Modeling
Measurements Mapping Monitoring

Time-1

Time-2

Time-3

Updating

Landuse

The four Ms. Measurement, Mapping,

Monitoring and Modeling of environmental Soil
features and processes can be enhanced
through the use of a GIS Spatial
Topography Analyses

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM

Adapted from J.Stars and J.Estates
 GIS
A computer based
system capable of
Hydrology
holding and using
data describing places Landuse
on the earth’s surface Districts
Topography
Soils

The real world

consists of many
geographies which
can be represented as
a number of related
data layers.

GIS IS SUPPORTING TOOL FOR DECISION MAKERS

 HOW GIS WORKS
Geology
GIS operations

Point Hydrology -Analysis

Cartographic
Thematic processing
.- Generalization
object Area - Symbolization

selection Line
Soil

Statistical tables
FieldSatellite
GPS Surveyimages
Aerial photographs
Attribute tables

Maps

Real world
Decision makers
 MAPS AND SPATIAL DATA

Topographic

Parcels

Contour lines

REAL-WORLD
GIS Principles
• 1. The computer is an unavoidable technology in our time. We are
living in the digital age, which has become an important element in
nearly all professions.
• 2. Computer training in most scientific disciplines is essential. Without
this technology all professionals will be handicapped.
• 3. The GIS is an inevitable technology that will be used in all scientific
fields. The GIS has become the accepted and standard means of using
spatial data.
• 4. GIS is more Accurate Flexible, Object Efficient, and Rapid Fun
comparing with the traditional method of spatial data inventory.
• 5. GIS is replacing traditional cartography. Much of traditional “pen
and ink” cartography done by skilled draftsperson and artist is being
replaced by GIS.
• 6. GIS is opening new horizons. New mode of analysis and
applications are constantly discovered.
Spatial Data Representation
• Spatial data is a fundamental component in any GIS environment. The
data is based on the perception of the world as being occupied by
features. Each feature is an entity which can be described by its
attribute or property, and its location on earth can be mapped using a
spatial reference.
• The most common representation of spatial data that measures the
landscape is Spatial Data Representation using discrete data (vector
model) and continuous data (raster model).
• The data models are a set of rules used to describe and represent real
world features in a GIS software.
Vector Data Model
• The vector data model is a representation of the world of distinct
features that have definite boundaries, identities, and has a specific
shape using point, lines, and polygons. Vector data is structured with
two specific elements (node, vertex) and coordinates.
• This model is useful for storing data that has discrete boundaries,
such as groundwater wells, streams, and lakes. Each entity has a
dimension, boundary and location. For example, a well has a specific
measurement and its location can be described using a coordinate
system such as latitude-longitude.
• The following represents the three fundamental vector types that
exist in GIS
Point:
• A point entity is simply a location that can be described using the
coordinate system (longitude, latitude or X, Y). The point has no
actual spatial dimension and has no actual length and width but has a
specific location in space (single coordinate pair). Point can be
represented by different symbols. Points generally specify features
that are too small to show properly at a given scale. For example,
buildings, schools, or a small farm at a scale of 1:25,000 can be
represented as a point.
• The coordinate system allows users to integrate the wells into GIS and
make them subject to mapping. The well feature is associated with an
attribute table. The attribute of each well has information related to
the depth and the yield of each well
Vector Data Model
Points: represent discrete point features
each point location
has a record in the
table

airports are point

features
each point is stored as a
coordinate pair
 Vector Data Model

Points are discreet

Nodes
Vertices
Lines
Nodes
Vertices
Arcs
Closed area (Lines + points ) = polygons
Line:
• A spatial feature that is given a precise location that can be described
by a series of coordinate pairs. Each line is stored by the sequence of
the first and last point together with the associated table attribute of
this line.
• Line is one dimensional feature and has length but no width. Lines are
a linear feature such as rivers, pipelines, and fences. The more points
used to create the line, the greater the detail.
• The recent requirement that the line features include topology, which
means that the system stores one end of the line as the starting point
and the other as the end point, giving the line “direction”.
Vector Data Model
node
vertex vertex

vertex
node vertex

• Lines start and end at nodes

• line #1 goes from node #2 to node #1
• Vertices determine shape of line
• Nodes and vertices are stored as coordinate
pairs
Vector Data Model
Lines: represent linear features
each road segment
has a record in the
table

roads are linear features

Polygon:
• The polygon is an area fully encompassed by a series of connected
lines. The first point in the polygon is equal to the last point. Polygon
is a 2-D feature with at least three sides and because lines have
direction, the area that falls within the lines compromise the polygon
and the perimeter can be calculated.
• All of the data points that form the perimeter of the polygon must
connect to form an unbroken line. Polygons are often an irregular
shape such as parcels, lakes, and political boundaries.
• Features on maps have spatial relationships which shows how those
features are related to each other in space. The most important
spatial relationships are:
 Vector Data Model
Polygons: represent bounded areas
each bounded polygon
has a record in the
table

landforms and water are

polygonal features
• 1. Distance: This measures the distance from one feature to another
in the GIS map. The distance concept is an important relationship as
the distance between features can be measured in any unit regardless
of the map’s coordinate system.
• 2. Distribution: This is the collective location of features where
relationships can show the feature among themselves or their spatial
relationships with other features in the map.
• 3. Density: This is the number of features per unit area or simply how
close features are to each other.
• 4. Pattern: This is the consistent arrangement of a feature.
 Vector Data Model

Vector data formats available in ArcGIS

ESRI GeoDatabases
ESRI shapefiles
ArcInfo coverages and libraries
CAD files (AutoCAD DWG, DXF; microstation DGN)
StreetMap files
Spatial Database Engine (SDE) data
ASCII point coordinate data
Linear measure (route) data
 Vector Data Model

ESRI Geodatabases
Geodatabase can store many files from many source
formats
1st preferred vector format in ArcGIS
Rapid display
Fully editable (coordinate and tabular) in ArcGIS
Convenient storage format
Data sets are either point or line or polygon
 Vector Data Model

ESRI shapefiles

2nd preferred vector format in ArcGIS

Rapid display
Fully editable (coordinate and tabular) in ArcGIS
Simple in structure
 Do not use arc-node topology

 “Connected” lines do not necessarily share a common

node
 Adjacent polygons do not share common bounding

arcs
Data sets are either point or line or polygon
Vector Data Model
Shapefile polygon spatial data model

• less complex data model

• polygons do not share bounding lines
 Vector Data Model

ArcInfo coverages
Commonly found format (due to ArcInfo market
dominance)
Data model more complex
Display more slowly in ArcGIS
Coordinate data not editable in ArcGIS
Polymorphic
(point/line/polygon/route/annotation/…)
Problematic OS file structure
Vector Data Model
ArcInfo coverage spatial data model

• polygons share bounding lines

• same topological rules can be built into
Geodatabase
 Vector Data Model

Characteristics
+ Features are positioned accurately
+ Shape of features can be represented correctly
+ Features are represented discretely (no fuzzy boundaries)
– Not good for representing spatially continuous phenomena
– Potentially complex data structure (especially for
polygons);
- can lead to long processing time for analytical
operations
Raster Data Model
• A representation of an area or region as a surface divided into a grid
of cells. It is useful for storing data that varies continuously, as in an
aerial photograph, a satellite image, a surface of humidity, or digital
elevation model (DEM)
• The cell is the minimum mapping unit and the smallest size at which
any landscape feature can be represented. These cells in the raster
dataset are used as building blocks for creating points, lines, and
polygons. In the raster data model, points, lines, polygons are
represented by grid cells.
• The location of each cell in the grid is determined by two things:
• (1) the origin of the grid (the upper left-corner, which is (0, 0) and the
resolution (size of the cell). The resolution is determined by measuring
one side of the square cell. For example, a raster model with cell
representing 5 m by 5 m (25 m2 ) in the real world would be said to have
a spatial resolution of 5 m.
• Each cell in the raster carries a single value, which represents the
characteristic of the spatial phenomenon at a location denoted by its row
and column. The precision of raster data is ruled by the resolution of the
grid data set. The data type for that cell value can be either integer or
floating-point.
Raster Data Model
A few different types of raster data

• digital orthophoto

• digital elevation
model (DEM)
Raster Data Model

Characteristics:

Rectangular grid of square cells

– Shape of discrete polygonal features generalized by
cells
+ Continuous (surface) data represented easily
+ Simple data structure
Raster Data Model

Good at representing continuous

phenomena, e.g.,
Wind speed
Elevation, slope, aspect
Chemical concentration
Likelihood of existence of a certain species
Electromagnetic reflectance (photographic or
satellite imagery)
Advantages and Disadvantages of the
Raster and Vector Model
• There are several advantages and disadvantages for using either the
raster or vector data model for storing and displaying spatial data.
Raster Model
• Advantages
• 1. Simple data structure
• 2. Efficient for remotely sensed or scanned data
• 3. Simple spatial analysis procedures
Disadvantages
• 1. Requires greater storage space on a computer
• 2. Depending on pixel size, graphical output may be less pleasing
• 3. Projection transformations are more difficult
• 4. Difficult to represent topological relationships
Vector Model
• Advantages
• 1. Data can be represented in its original resolution without
generalization
• 2. Requires less disk storage space
• 3. Topological relationships are readily maintained
• 4. Graphical output closely resembles hand-drawn maps
Disadvantage
• s 1. More complex data structure
• 2. Inefficient for remotely sensed data
• 3. Some spatial analysis procedures are complex and process
intensive
• 4. Overlaying multiple vector maps is often time consuming
GIS Project
• To carry a GIS project, users need to integrate spatial data into the GIS
software where the data can have a vector or raster dataset. GIS data
comes from many resources
• 1. Hard copy maps
• 2. Digital files
• 3. Imagery
• 4. GPS
• 5. Excel, text delimited, and dbf files
• 6. Reports
• The GIS analysis is based on the database, which is powerful and
important in GIS.