Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
Most of the time man is Interested to know what is happening in his environment.
For example:
i. Urban planner, might want to find out about the urban fringe growth in her/his
city and quantify the population growth that some suburbs are witnessing.
ii. A biologist might be interested in the impact of slash and burn prcatices on
the population of amphibian species in rural areas
iii. A geological engineer might want to identify the best localities for constructing
the building in an area with regular earthquakes by looking at rock formations.
iv. A geoinformatics Engineer hired by a tele-communication company may want
to determine the best sites for the company transmission stations.
All the above professional will work with data that relates to space ,
typically involving positional data.
Positional data determines where things are or perhaps where they
were or will be.
More precisely these professionals deal with questions related
to geographical space.
An introduction to GIS
What is GIS ? Can be
The common ground between information processing and the many
fields using spatial analysis techniques. (Tomlinson, 1972)
A powerful set of tools for collecting, storing, retrieving, transforming,
and displaying spatial data from the real world. (Burroughs, 1986)
A computerised database management system for the capture, storage,
retrieval, analysis and display of spatial (locationally defined) data.
(NCGIA, 1987)
A decision support system involving the integration of spatially
referenced data in a problem solving environment. (Cowen, 1988)
An introduction to GIS
What is GIS ? Common definition
A Geographic Information System is a computer-based information system
that enables capture, storage, retrieval at will, sharing, manipulation,
transforming and presentation of spatially referenced data from the real
world for a particular set of purposes.
GIS data
storage
GIS data
transformation
Presenting GIS
data
DBMS--typical data base contains implicit but not explicit locational information
city, county, zip code, etc. but no geographical coordinates
is 100 N. High around the corner or across town from 200 E Main?
automated mapping (AM) --primarily two-dimensional display devices
thematic mapping (choropleth,etc such as SAS/GRAPH, DIDS, business mapping
software) unable to relate different geographical layers (e.g zip codes and
counties)
automated cartography--graphical design oriented; limited database ability
facility management (FM) systems- lack spatial analysis tools
plats, zoning, public works (streets, water supply, sewers), garbage collection, land
ownership and valuation, public safety (fire and police)
Battlefield management
Satellite imagery interpretation
Local Government
Public works/infrastructure management (roads, water, sewer)
Planning and environmental management
property records and appraisal
Transportation
Airline route planning, transportation planning/modeling
Environmental Sciences
Monitoring environmental risk
Modeling stormwater runoff
Management of watersheds, floodplains,
wetlands, forests, aquifers
Environmental Impact Analysis
Hazardous or toxic facility siting
Groundwater modeling and
contamination tracking
Political Science
Redistricting
Analysis of election results
Predictive modeling
Civil Engineering/Utility
Locating underground facilities
Designing alignment for freeways, transit
Coordination of infrastructure maintenance
Business
Demographic Analysis
Market Penetration/ Share Analysis
Site Selection
Education Administration
Attendance Area Maintenance
Enrollment Projections
School Bus Routing
Real Estate
Neighborhood land prices
Traffic Impact Analysis
Determination of Highest and Best Use
Health Care
Epidemiology
Needs Analysis
Service Inventory
COMPONENTS OF A GIS?
COMPONENTS OF A GIS?
1. Hardware and peripherals
Hardware is the computer system on which a GIS operates. Today, GIS software runs on a wide
range of hardware types, from centralized computer servers to desktop computers used in
stand-alone or networked configurations.
These are the devices that the user interacts with directly in carrying out GIS operations, by typing,
pointing, clicking and which returns information by displaying it on the devices screen or
generating meaningful sounds.
They are inclusive of an office desktop, laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), in-vehicle
devices and even cellular (mobile) phones.
Other peripheral devices that are used in the input and output of the GIS query results
include scanners, digitizers, for input, and plotters and printers for the output.
2. Software
GIS softwares provides the functions and tools needed to input, storage, analysis, 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.
COMPONENTS OF A GIS?
2. Software
GIS software available include simple to complex packages available from GIS
vendors, to free customizable ones that are freely available in the Internet.
A spectrum of products that may be described as GIS software includes (among others):
Highly specialized, sector specific packages: e.g. civil engineering design and
costing systems; satellite image processing systems; and utility infrastructure
management systems
COMPONENTS OF A GIS?
2. Software
1. Professional GIS
Refers to fully featured software that has the capabilities of collection and editing GIS data,
database administration, advanced geoprocessing and analysis, and other specialist tools
Prices for professional GIS are typically in the range of US$8,000-US$20,000 per user (have discount
for multiple users)
2. Desktop GIS
Most of the desktop GIS software have all adopted the Microsoft standards for interoperability and
user interface.
Examples include Autodesk World, ESRI ArcView, Intergraph GeoMedia, and MapInfo
Professional, Quantum GIS
Hand-held GIS are lightweight systems designed for mobile and field use
Have capabilities similar to hand held computers, supporting many display, query, and simple
analytical applications, even on displays of 320 X 240 pixels.
COMPONENTS OF A GIS?
2. Software
4. Component GIS
These are basically tool kits of GIS functions (components) that a reasonably knowledgeable programmer
can use to build a full GIS software system.
These type of components can be used to create highly customised and optimized applications that
can either be stand alone or can be embedded within other software systems.
Examples include ESRI MapObjects, MapInfo MapX, and Blue Mable Geographics GeoObjects.
5. Viewer GIS
Free GIS software that are able to display and query popular file formats.
The GIS viewers have limited functional capabilities, restricted to display query and simple mapping.
Examples include ESRIs ArcReader, ArcGIS Explorer, Intergraphs GeoMedia Viewer and Mapinfos
ProViewer.
6. Internet GIS
These products harness the unique characteristics of the World Wide Web (www) by integrating
GIS technology with web browsers and servers, and use the hypertext transmission protocol (http)
for communication.
Examples of Internet GIS products include Autodesk MapGuide, ESRI ArcIMS, Intergraph GeoMedia
Web Map and MapInfo MapXtreme.
Cost of the products vary from around $5000 to $25,000 for small to medium-sized systems, to large
multi function, multi-systems
COMPONENTS OF A GIS?
3. Data
COMPONENTS OF A GIS?
4. People
GIS technology is of limited value without the people who manage the system and
develop plans for applying it to real-world problems.
Users range from technical specialists, who design and maintain the system,
to those who use it to help them perform their everyday work.
GIS is useless without the people who design, program, and maintain it, supply it
with data, and interpret its results.
5. Methods/procedures
COMPONENTS OF A GIS?
6. Network
GIS today relies heavily on the Internet and on the intranets of corporations
and agencies in delivering applications.
Users can access GIS, without the software installed in their computers, from
remote servers. Distributed users, through the network, can access a
centralized GIS. The network component has enabled many people to utilize GIS
capabilities even without the knowledge that they are using GIS services in their
problem solutions.
History of GIS?
Man has used maps for a long time
History of GIS?
Man has used maps for a long time
Reconstruction of
Ptolemys Septima Asiae Tabula,
map of portion of
Asia east of the Caspian Sea
(ca. 90-168 A.D.) Roman Egypt
History of GIS?
Decade
1960s
History of GIS?
Decade
1980s
Information
and
History of GIS?
Decade
1990s
Decade
2000s
- Web mapping
- Cloud GIS
- google maps, openstreet maps
Assignment 1:
i. Discuss the history and development of GIS up to date.