ARMY BURN HALL COLLEGE FOR GIRLS, ABBOTTABAD

UNIT - 1
FUNDAMENTALS OF GIS

1.1. GIS OVERVIEW

GIS refers to three integrated parts.
a) Geographic: Of the real world; the spatial realities, the geography.
b) Information: Data and information; their meaning and use.
c) Systems: The computer technology and support infrastructure.

GIS therefore refers to a set of three aspects of our modern world, and offers new ways to
deal with them. The concept of information is indeed the heart of the rapidly growing field of
Geographic Information Systems or GIS. As the world moves into the Information Age,
meaningful data and information are becoming the major „currency‟. With the continuous
advances in computer technology, it is easy to concentrate on dazzling systems and software, but
the real value of any product is the data and the information such data provides. At the heart of
any GIS is information.

1.1.1. Introduction to GIS

(i) A geographic information system (GIS) is a system designed to capture, store,
manipulate, analyze, manage, and present spatial or geographic data. GIS applications
are tools that allow users to create interactive queries (user-created searches), analyze
spatial information, edit data in maps, and present the results of all these
operations. GIS (more commonly GIScience) sometimes refers to geographic
information science (GIScience), the science underlying geographic concepts,
applications, and systems.
(ii) GIS can refer to a number of different technologies, processes, techniques and
methods. It is attached to many operations and has many applications related to
engineering, planning, management, transport/logistics, insurance,
telecommunications, and business. For that reason, GIS and location intelligence
applications can be the foundation for many location-enabled services that rely on
analysis and visualization.
(iii) GIS can relate unrelated information by using location as the key index variable.
Locations or extents in the Earth space–time may be recorded as dates/times of
occurrence, and x, y, and z coordinates representing, longitude, latitude, and elevation,
respectively. All Earth-based spatial–temporal location and extent references should
1.2 GIS
be relatable to one another and ultimately to a "real" physical location or extent. This
key characteristic of GIS has begun to open new avenues of scientific inquiry.

1.2. BASIC SPATIAL CONCEPTS

Spatial Concept seeks to position spatial concepts as the driving force for spatial thinking
and for the selection and use of spatial tools. Eight concepts are the focus of spatial reasoning in
the use of geographical information. These concepts are demonstrable at all levels of space and
time (from sub-atomic to galactic, passed through future, and microseconds to ions). They can be
rendered understandable through simple illustrations to young children but they are also
sufficiently engaging at advanced levels for thinking about scientific and social problems.
Location - Understanding formal and informal methods of specifying “where”
Distance - The ability to reason from knowledge of relative position
Network - Understanding the importance of connections
Neighborhood and Region - Drawing inferences from spatial context
Scale - Understanding spatial scale and its significance
Spatial Heterogeneity - The implications of spatial variability
Spatial Dependence - Understanding relationships across space
Objects and Fields - Viewing phenomena as continuous in space-time or as discrete

These concepts have been a foundation for researchers for centuries (see Classics in
Spatial Thinking). They have been augmented in recent decades with computational and
visualization tools and with vast and easily accessible information resources. These concepts and
tools must be as central to general education as reading, writing, and arithmetic. In conjunction
with the appropriate spatial tools, they provide a basic scaffold for designing research, solving
problems, and structuring education programs.

Spatial concepts invites contributions about other concepts for spatial thinking (e.g., in
design fields and in the humanities and arts). Examples may include the link between form and
function in architecture, the search for pattern in speech and text, the use of spatial notation in
music, the use of spatial metaphor in the sciences and humanities, the importance of place in
cultural and social studies, and the spatial elements of aesthetics in the visual arts. If you wish to
add concepts to the listing.

1.2.1. Location:
Every type of spatial data has two components: a location and some attribute(s). In this
way, location can be seen as a fundamental trait that both defines spatial data and separates it from
other types of information. Broadly speaking, there are two types of locations: absolute and
relative. Absolute location refers to an exact position on the Earth‟s surface defined by some
coordinate system. Street addresses and latitude/longitude coordinates are good examples of
absolute locations. Relative locations, on the other hand, are defined in reference to other objects.
For example, one could define UCSB‟s relative location as 10 miles west of downtown Santa
Barbara.
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.3
The method of determining or measuring location is called georeferencing. There are
many different ways of defining a georeference, but they all must meet a few requirements. First,
the georeference must be unique so that only one location is described. Second, georeferences
must have an accepted meaning that is shared so that most users understand its implication.
Finally, georeferences must be viable throughout time so that their meaning is not lost. Metric
georeferences are those which define location by measurement and are of particular importance in
analyzing spatial data. In order to properly define a metric georeference, consideration must be
given to the shape of the Earth, map projections and coordinate systems, and positional accuracy.

Representing location is also an important concept in the use of spatial data. Spot locations
are represented as zero-dimension points, lines as one-dimensional poly-lines, areas as two-
dimensional polygons, and volumes as three-dimensional polyhedra.

Fig. 1.1. Related Images Location Example (GPS image)

1.2.2. Distance
Distance describes the measurement or separation of two objects or places. At its most
basic, measured distance provides a mechanism for describing spatial extent. In spatial reasoning,
the classical case is that a positive relationship exists between distance and locational attribute
similarity. The relationship, as worded by the Swiss-American cartographer, Waldo Tobler, is,
“Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related to each other.”
Examining the strength, limitations, and exceptions of the distance-similarity correlation serves as
the foundation of much quantitative and qualitative spatial research. Measured distance also
provides a necessary dimension for describing position. All real points can be plotted with respect
to another by coupling measures of distance with heading and/or time. Common application of
distance include spatial analysis and modeling, physics and gravitation, distance decay, buffers,
geodesics, route description and optimization, and qualitative comparison of place.

1.2.3. Network
A network is a physical or conceptual system of linkages among entities. Networks offer
an infrastructure for representing the anisotropic relationships of various constituents and
constituent attributes. Typically, a network connection denotes increased accessibility or
relatedness along a link, and linkages may override the default notion that closer features are more
accessible and related. For instance, driving from one side of a river to the other often requires a
1.4 GIS
circuitous path many orders of magnitude greater than the direct distance from origin to
destination.

Networks commonly are represented by the elements: linkages, nodes, and

intersections. Carefully crafted associations among these elements facilitate analyses
regarding least-cost path optimization, measures of separation and similarity, and emergent
spatial structures. Additionally, attributes can be assigned to various network elements to
allow for directionality (e.g., a one-way street), intersection policy (e.g., a no U-turn rule),
cost (e.g., a speed limit), and system regulation (e.g., synchronized traffic signals to control
flow). Some applications of networks include traffic management, delivery systems, social
structures, river hydrology, and communication systems.

Fig.1.2. Network Example (Social Network Diagram)

1.2.4. Neighborhoods and regions
Neighborhoods and regions define areas surrounding and containing spatial data. They
may be formal in nature, such as state and country boundaries, and informal, such as the
colloquial use of terms like “downtown.” Regions may also be defined in terms of a particular
function. For example, the functional region for a pizza restaurant may be the area within a city to
which it delivers.

Utilizing neighborhoods and regions can allow one to make inferences about data from its
spatial context. Many fields use neighborhoods and regions in just this way. In remote sensing,
neighborhood statistics can be calculated using the values of adjacent pixels. In business, service
regions are defined to maximize the number and locations of stores or restaurant franchises. In
landscape ecology, metrics have been developed to measure the fragmentation of environmental
patches within an ecosystem.

There are problems with making inferences between data at different scales, however. The
modifiable area unit problem (MAUP), or ecological fallacy, involves two issues that underscore
the use of data aggregated to the neighborhood or region. First, there is a problem of scale. In this
way, results of analysis at one scale are not comparable to results at higher or lower levels of
aggregation. For example, it does not make sense to use population density calculated at the state
level to describe density at the county level. Second, there is a problem of aggregation. Changing
region boundaries can have immense effects on the neighborhood statistics. The gerrymandering
of voting districts is one example of an aggregation problem.
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.5

Fig. 1.3. Neighborhood/Region Example (Gerrymandering diagram)

1.2.5. Scale
In spatial reasoning, scale describes the dimensional relationship between a representation
and reality. Due to the large variation of all space, scale is used to project reality to more useful
and meaningful sizes. For large expanses, scale is reduced (e.g., fitting the entirety of earth‟s
surface on to a paper map), and for miniscule distances, scale is increased (e.g., enlarging and
schematizing chemical reactions). Often, scale is denoted as a fraction where a unit of measure in
reality is compared to the same unit on the projection. For instance, a paper map of a landscape
showing a scale of 1:10,000 would mean that a drawn unit on the map represents 10,000 of the
same unit in reality.

Offering spatial data at scales different from their original data collection granularity may
imply changes of meaning; thus, data product limitations should be carefully considered by both
creators and consumers of spatial information. As a fundamental spatial concept, applications of
scale permeate many human activities including data collection, cartography, art, architecture,
engineering, and nanotechnology.

1.2.6. Spatial heterogeneity

Spatial heterogeneity refers to the degree of variation in some attribute across places and
region. For example, a satellite image of the Pacific Ocean would show little variation and thus
would have a low level of spatial heterogeneity; whereas, an image of the patchwork of
agricultural fields in the Midwestern U.S. may be considered highly spatially heterogeneous. In
the same way that biodiversity defines species variation in biology, spatial heterogeneity defines
variation of an attribute in spatial studies.

There are many research implications caused by the fundamental heterogeneity of spatial
data. In most cases, spatial data can be said to have a non-constant mean and variance throughout
a study area. That is, local statistical parameters change with location and are thus not uniformly
distributed. This characteristic of spatial data is termed non-stationarity and directly impacts
research in areas such as sampling design. For example, it is very difficult to obtain a
representative sample of a region because of the heterogeneous nature of many spaces.
1.6 GIS
Another characteristic of spatial data that impacts research is the general rule that spatial
data tend to become more heterogeneous as the study area gets larger. This means the variance
observed in a small region is less than that in a larger region. That is, expected variation around
the mean in small regions underestimates and, thus, is not applicable in subsequently larger
regions. This uncontrolled variance in spatial data has impacts in the study design of projects
involving large areas and times, such as global warming.

Fig.1.4. Spatial Heterogeneity Example (Landscape Patch image)

1.2.7. Spatial dependence:
Spatial dependence is the manifestation of Tobler‟s first law of geography, which states,
“Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related to each other.” This
seemingly simple principle applies to many types of spatial attributes. For example, one would
expect the temperature of Santa Barbara to be more similar to the temperature in Los Angeles than
to the temperature in Seattle. This relatedness between data based on the distance is also termed
spatial autocorrelation. If spatial data were truly random, there would be zero spatial
autocorrelation. Applying this idea to the previous example would mean that no inference of
similarity could be made between the temperatures in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
Fortunately, most attributes in the world are not distributed in this manner and thus display a
certain degree of spatial dependence.

Researchers can quantify spatial correlation by using indices such as Moran‟s I and
Geary‟s C. Researchers can also model spatial dependence by using the methods developed in the
field of geostatistics. Techniques such as kriging allow researchers to quantify the changes in
attribute variance versus distance. This model of spatial dependence is called a semi-variogram, or
just variogram. Variograms offer a mechanism to predict attribute values in locations where data
are not present. These powerful interpolation tools have many real-world applications in fields
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.7
such as mining and petroleum discovery, epidemiology, atmospheric science, oceanography, and
soil science.

Fig. 1.5. Spatial Dependence Example (Temperature Map)

1.2.8. Objects and fields:
Objects and fields describe two fundamental, dichotomous, conceptualizations of space.
Objects are collections of discrete, bounded entities, usually composed of geometric primitives,
such as points, lines, curves, and polygons. Conceptually, object-based reality is considered empty
space populated by distinct entities. Attributes are associated with bounded features to define and
describe the objects. Conversely, field-based representation fills continuous space with attribute
measures at all locations. A field offers a conceptual model of spatial variation, and attributes
themselves, as opposed to workings of distinct boundaries, define the field.

The object-field dichotomy serves as the underpinning for all methods of spatial
representation and analysis, and each perspective offers a characteristic set of abilities and
limitations. For instance, objects offer logical concepts like “inside” and “outside,” and
comparisons such as intersections and buffers. Fields are particularly suited for spatial phenomena
considered less bounded, like air, water, temperature, and elevation. Not constrained by distinct
edges, fields lend themselves to analyses related to interpolation and global attribute comparison.
Analysis and representation of fields often yield areas of peaks, valleys, aspects, and slopes.

Fig. 1.6. Object Example (Cadastral Map)

The representational and analytical potential of both perspectives is mirrored in computer
software for modeling reality. Modeling software for analyzing property boundaries, road
1.8 GIS
networks, and individuals, tend to use object-based representation methods. Software for
analyzing less-bounded phenomena, like temperature variation, ocean circulation, and hydrologic
modeling, typically use field-based models for database storage and analysis.

Ongoing research on the object-field dichotomy has focused on repercussions of accuracy,

uncertainty, and usage, the philosophy of spatial reality within the context of such representations,
and defining and utilizing object-fields hybrids. Common domains using objects and fields are
Geographic Information Systems, spatial ontology, spatial analysis, and database design.

1.3. GEOGRAPHIC COORDINATE SYSTEMS

A geographic coordinate system is a reference system for identifying locations on the
curved surface of the earth. Locations on the earth‟s surface are measured in angular units from
the center of the earth relative to two planes: the plane defined by the equator and the plane
defined by the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich England). A location is therefore
defined by two values: a latitudinal value and a longitudinal value.

Figure 1.7: Examples of latitudinal lines are shown on the left and examples of longitudinal
lines are shown on the right. The 0° degree reference lines for each are shown in red (equator
for latitudinal measurements and prime meridian for longitudinal measurements).
A latitude measures the angle from the equatorial plane to the location on the earth‟s
surface. A longitude measures the angle between the prime meridian plane and the north-south
plane that intersects the location of interest. For example Colby College is located at around
45.56° North and 69.66° West. In a GIS system, the North-South and East-West directions are
encoded as signs. North and East are assigned a positive (+) sign and South and West are assigned
a negative (-) sign. Colby College‟s location is therefore encoded as +45.56° and -69.66°.

Figure 1.8. A slice of earth showing the

latitude and longitude measurements.
A GCS is defined by an ellipsoid, geoid and datum. These elements are presented next.
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.9
1.3.1. Sphere and Ellipsoid
Assuming that the earth is a perfect sphere greatly simplifies mathematical calculations
and works well for small-scale maps (maps that show a large area of the earth). However, when
working at larger scales, an ellipsoid representation of earth may be desired if accurate
measurements are needed. An ellipsoid is defined by two radii: the semi-major axis (the equatorial
radius) and the semi-minor axis (the polar radius).

The reason the earth has a slightly ellipsoidal shape has to do with its rotation which
induces a centripetal force along the equator. This results in an equatorial axis that is roughly 21
km longer than the polar axis.

Our estimate of these radii is quite precise thanks to satellite and computational
capabilities. The semi-major axis is 6,378,137 meters and the semi-minor axis is 6,356,752
meters.

Differences in distance measurements along the surfaces of an ellipsoid vs. a sphere are
small but measurable (the difference can be as high as 20 km) as illustrated in the following lattice
plots.

1.9. Fig. Spheroids with vertical rotational axes

1.3.2. Geoid
Representing the earth‟s true shape, the geoid, as a mathematical model is crucial for a
GIS environment. However, the earth‟s shape is not a perfectly smooth surface. It has undulations
resulting from changes in gravitational pull across its surface. These undulations may not be
visible with the naked eye, but they are measurable and can influence locational measurements.

Figure 1.10. Earth’s geoid with gravitational field shown in rainbow colors. The
ondulations depicted in the graphics are exaggerated for visual effects. (source: NASA)
1.10 GIS
Note that we are not including mountains and ocean bottoms in our discussion, instead we
are focusing solely on the earth‟s gravitational potential which can be best visualized by
imagining the earth‟s surface completely immersed in water and measuring the sea surface level
over the entire earth surface.

The earth‟s gravitational field is dynamic and is tied to the flow of the earth‟s hot and fluid
core. Hence its geoid is constantly changing, albeit at a large temporal [Link] measurement and
representation of the earth‟s shape is at the heart of geodesy–a branch of applied mathematics.

1.3.3. Datum
So how are we to reconcile our need to work with a (simple) mathematical model of the
earth‟s shape with the on dulating nature of the earth‟s surface (i.e. its geoid). The solution is to
align the geoid with the ellipsoid (or sphere) representation of the earth and to map the earth‟s
surface features onto this ellipsoid/sphere. The alignment can be local where the ellipsoid surface
is closely fit to the geoid at a particular location on the earth‟s surface (such as the state of
Kansas) or geocentric where the ellipsoid is aligned with the center of the earth. How one chooses
to align the ellipsoid to the geoid defines a datum.

Local Datum
There are many local datums to choose from, some are old while others are more recently
defined. The choice of datum is largely driven by the location of interest. For example, when
working in the US, a popular local datum to choose from is the North American Datum of 1927
(or NAD27 for short). NAD27 works well for the US but it‟s not well suited for other parts of the
world. For example, a far better local datum for Europe is the European Datum of 1950 (ED50 for
short). Examples of common local datums are shown in the following table:

Local datum Acronym Best for Comment

North American NAD27 Continental This is an old datum but still prevalent
Datum of 1927 US because of the wide use of older maps.
European Datum of ED50 Western Developed after World War II and still
1950 Europe quite popular today. Not used in the UK.
World Geodetic WGS72 Global Developed by the Department of Defense.
System 1972

Geocentric Datum
Many of the modern datums use a geocentric alignment. These include the popular World
Geodetic Survey for 1984 (WGS84) and the North American Datums of 1983 (NAD83). Most of
the popular geocentric datums use the WGS84 ellipsoid or the GRS80 ellipsoid. These ellipsoids‟
semi-major and semi-minor axes are nearly identical: 6,378,137 meters and 6,356,752 meters
respectively. Examples of popular geocentric datums are shown in the following table:

Geocentric datum Acronym Best for Comment

North American Datum of NAD83 Continental This is one of the most popular
1983 US modern datums for the contiguous
US.
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.11
European Terrestrial ETRS89 Western This is the most popular modern
Reference System 1989 Europe datum for much of Europe.
World Geodetic System 1984 WGS84 Global Developed by the Department of
Defense.

1.4. GIS AS AN INFORMATION SYSTEM

As Definition of GIS indicates GIS as a specialized information system stresses "spatially
distributed features (points, lines, areas), activities (physical and human-invoked), and events
(time).

GIS as an approach to Geographic Information Science

1) research on GIS (algorithms, analytical methods, visualization tools, user interfaces,
human-computer-human interaction)
2) research with GIS: GIS as a tool used by many substantive disciplines in their own
ways (anthropology, archeology, forestry, geology, engineering, business and
management sciences)

1.5. DEFINING GIS

A GIS is a system of hardware, software, data, people, organizations, and institutional
arrangements for collecting, storing, analyzing and disseminating information about areas of the
earth. It is also defined as an information system designed to work with data referenced by spatial
/ geographical coordinates. In other words, GIS is both a database system with specific
capabilities for spatially referenced data as well as a set of operations for working with the data. A
Geographic Information System is a computer based system which is used to digitally reproduce
and analyze the feature present on earth surface and the events that take place on it. In the light of
the fact that almost 70% of the data has geographical reference as its denominator, it becomes
imperative to underline the importance of a system which can represent the given data
geographically.

1.6. HISTORY OF GIS

The idea of portraying different layers of data on a series of base maps, and relating things
geographically, has been around much older than computers invention. Thousands years ago, the
early man used to draw pictures of the animals they hunted on the walls of caves. These animal
drawings are track lines and tallies thought to depict migration routes. While simplistic in
comparison to modern technologies, these early records mimic the two-element structure of
modern geographic information systems, an image associated with attribute information.

Possibly the earliest use of the geographic method, in 1854 John Snow depicted a cholera
outbreak in London using points to represent the locations of some individual cases. His study of
the distribution of cholera led to the source of the disease, a contaminated water pump within the
heart of the cholera outbreak. While the basic elements of topology and theme existed previously
in cartography, the John Snow map was unique, using cartographic methods, not only to depict
but also to analyze, clusters of geographically dependent phenomena for the first time.
 1.12 GIS
The early 20th century saw the development of "photo lithography" where maps were
separated into layers. Computer hardware development spurred by nuclear weapon research led to
general-purpose computer "mapping" applications by the early 1960s. In the year 1962, the
world's first true operational GIS was developed by the federal Department of Forestry and Rural
Development in Ottawa, Canada by Dr. Roger Tomlinson. It was called the "Canada Geographic
Information System" (CGIS) and was used to store, analyze, and manipulate data collected for the
Canada Land Inventory (CLI). It is an initiative to determine the land capability for rural Canada
by mapping information about soils, agriculture, recreation, wildlife, forestry, and land use at a
scale of 1:50,000.

CGIS was the world's first "system" and was an improvement over "mapping" applications
as it provided capabilities for overlay, measurement, and digitizing or scanning. It supported a
national coordinate system that spanned the continent, coded lines as "arcs" having a true
embedded topology, and it stored the attribute and location specific information in a separate files.
Dr. Tomlinson is known as the "father of GIS," for his use of overlays in promoting the spatial
analysis of convergent geographic data.

In 1964, Howard T Fisher formed the Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial
Analysis at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where a number of important theoretical
concepts in spatial data handling were developed. This lab had major influence on the
development of GIS until early 1980s. Many pioneers of newer GIS "grew up" at the Harvard lab
and had distributed seminal software code and systems, such as 'SYMAP', 'GRID', and
'ODYSSEY'.

By the early 1980s, M&S Computing (later Intergraph), Environmental Systems Research
Institute (ESRI) and CARIS emerged as commercial vendors of GIS software, successfully
incorporating many of the CGIS features, combining the first generation approach to separation of
spatial and attribute information with a second generation approach to organizing attribute data
into database structures. More functions for user interaction were developed mainly in a graphical
way by a user friendly interface (Graphical User Interface), which gave to the user the ability to
sort, select, extract, reclassify, reproject and display data on the basis of complex geographical,
topological and statistical criteria. During the same time, the development of a public domain GIS
begun by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineering Research Laboratory (USA-CERL) in Champaign,
Illinois, a branch of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to meet the need of the United States
military for software for land management and environmental planning.

In the years 1980s and 1990s industry growth were spurred on by the growing use of
GIS on Unix workstations and the personal computers. By the end of the 20th century, the
rapid growth in various systems had been consolidated and standardized on relatively few
platforms and users were beginning to export the concept of viewing GIS4 data over the
Internet, requiring uniform data format and transfer standards. More recently, there is a
growing number of free, open source GIS packages, which run on a range of operating
systems and can be customized to perform specific tasks. As computing power increased and
hardware prices slashed down, the GIS became a viable technology for state development
planning. It has become a real Management Information System (MIS), and thus able to
support decision making processes.

Evolution of GIS – Easy Version

1. Before Computers (Ancient to 19th Century)
o People used paper maps to show land, rivers, roads, and animal migration.
o Early humans drew animals and hunting routes on cave walls—this is similar to
modern GIS showing locations with information.
o In 1854, John Snow used a map to show cholera cases in London, helping to find
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.13
o the source of the disease. This was an early example of using maps for analysis,
not just showing locations.
2. Early 20th Century – Map Layers
o Maps started being made in layers using photolithography.
o This helped separate different types of information (like roads, rivers, and land
use) for easier analysis.
3. 1960s – Computer-Based GIS
o Computers allowed digital mapping and analysis.
o In 1962, the Canada Geographic Information System (CGIS) was created by Dr.
Roger Tomlinson, known as the father of GIS.
o CGIS stored and analyzed land, soil, agriculture, and forestry data, and introduced
concepts like overlays, measurement, and separating location and attribute data.
4. 1960s–1980s – GIS Labs and Software
o At Harvard, Howard T. Fisher developed GIS research, creating software like
SYMAP, GRID, and ODYSSEY.
o These programs influenced GIS development worldwide.
5. 1980s–1990s – Commercial GIS
o Companies like ESRI, Intergraph, and CARIS created user-friendly GIS software.
o Features included graphical interfaces, sorting, reclassifying, and displaying data.
o Public domain GIS was also developed for land management and environmental
planning.
6. 2000s–Present – Web GIS and Modern GIS
o GIS became available on the internet and mobile devices, like Google Maps and
OpenStreetMap.
o Modern GIS uses big data, AI, drones, IoT, and real-time analysis.
o GIS is now a powerful tool for decision-making, planning, and environmental
monitoring.
 1.14 GIS

1.7. COMPONENTS OF A GIS

A working GIS integrates five key components: -
i) Hardware ii) Software iii) Data iv) People v) Methods

GIS enables the user to input, manage, manipulate, analyze, and display geographically
referenced data using a computerized system. To perform various operations with GIS, the
components of GIS such as software, hardware, data, people and methods are essential.

1.7.1. Software
GIS software provides the functions and tools needed to store, analyze, and display
geographic information. Key software components are (a) a database management system
(DBMS) (b) tools for the input and manipulation of geographic information (c) tools that support
geographic query, analysis, and visualization (d) a graphical user interface (GUI) for easy access
to tools. GIS software are either commercial software or software developed on Open Source
domain, which are available for free. However, the commercial software is copyright protected,
can be expensive and is available in terms number of licensees.

Currently available commercial GIS software includes Arc/Info, Intergraph, MapInfo,

Gram++ etc. Out of these Arc/Info is the most popular software package. And, the open source
software are AMS/MARS etc.

1.7.2. GIS Hardware

GIS hardware refers to the physical equipment required to collect, store, process, analyze, and
display geographic data. The performance and accuracy of a GIS largely depend on the quality of
the hardware used.

2.1 Computers and Servers

Computers are the core hardware component of any GIS system. Desktop computers and laptops
are commonly used for basic GIS tasks such as map creation and spatial analysis. High-
performance servers are used in organizations that handle large datasets, multiple users, or web-
based GIS applications. Faster processors, large RAM, and high-capacity storage improve GIS
processing speed.

2.2 Input Devices

Input devices are used to capture spatial data into the GIS system.

Scanners convert paper maps into digital format.

Digitizers are used to manually trace maps and convert them into vector data.
GPS devices collect accurate location data from the field.
Remote sensing satellites and drones provide large-scale geographic data such as satellite images
and aerial photographs.

2.3 Storage Devices

GIS requires large storage capacity due to high-resolution maps and satellite imagery. Hard
drives, solid-state drives (SSDs), external storage, and cloud storage systems are commonly used
to store GIS datasets securely and efficiently.
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.15

2.4 Output Devices

Output devices display or present GIS results.

Monitors with high resolution are used for map visualization.

Printers and plotters produce hard-copy maps and reports.
Projectors are used for presentations and decision-making meetings.

2.5 Networking and Communication Hardware

Networking hardware such as routers, switches, and internet connections enable data sharing,
web-based GIS, and collaborative decision making. These are essential for real-time GIS
applications and cloud-based platforms.

➢ Minimum configuration required to Arc/Info Desktop 9.0 GIS application is as follows:

Product: ArcInfo Desktop 9.0

Platform: PC-Intel
Operating System: Windows XP Professional Edition, Home Edition
Service Packs/Patches: SP 1
SP2 (refer to Limitations)
Shipping/Release Date: May 10, 2004

Hardware Requirements
CPU Speed: 800 MHz minimum, 1.0 GHz recommended or higher
Processor: Pentium or higher
Memory/RAM: 256 MB minumum, 512 MB recommended or higher
Display Properties: Greater than 256 color depth
Swap Space: 300 MB minimum
Disk Space: Typical 605 MB NTFS, Complete 695 MB FAT32 + 50 MB forinstallation
1.16 GIS
Browser: Internet Explorer 6.0 Requirement:
(Some features of ArcInfo Desktop 9.0 require a minimum installation of Microsoft
Internet Explorer Version 6.0.)

1.7.3. Data
The most important component of a GIS is the data. Geographic data or Spatial data and
related tabular data can be collected in-house or bought from a commercial data provider. Spatial
data can be in the form of a map/remotely-sensed data such as satellite imagery and aerial
photography. These data forms must be properly geo-referenced (latitude/longitude). Tabular data
can be in the form attribute data that is in some way related to spatial data. Most GIS software
comes with inbuilt Database Management Systems (DBMS) to create and maintain a database to
help organize and manage data.

1.7.4. Users
GIS technology is of limited value without the users who manage the system and to
develop plans for applying it. GIS users range from technical specialists who design and maintain
the system to those who use it to help them do their everyday work.

These users are largely interested in the results of the analyses and may have no interest or
knowledge of the methods of analysis. The user-friendly interface of the GIS software allows the
nontechnical users to have easy access to GIS analytical capabilities without needing to know
detailed software commands. A simple User Interface (UI) can consist of menus and pull-down
graphic windows so that the user can perform required analysis with a few key presses without
needing to learn specific commands in detail.

1.7.5. People
GIS technology has limited value without the people who manage and develop plans for
applying it to real world problems. GIS user range from technical specialists who design and
maintain the system to those who use it to help them perform their everyday work. The
identification of GIS specialist's vs. end users is often critical to the proper implementation of GIS
technology. This is what called 'brain ware' which is equally important as the Hardware and
software. Brain ware refers to the purpose and objectives, and provides the reason and
justification, for using GIS.

This component of GIS includes all those individuals (such as the programmer, database
manager, GIS researcher etc.) who are making the GIS work, and also the individuals who are at
the user end using the GIS services, applications and tools.

1.7.6. Methods
In GIS, methods mean the rules, steps, and plans that explain how GIS is used in an
organization. A GIS does not work properly just by having software and data; it needs a clear plan
that tells people what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. These plans are called business rules.
Every organization has its own way of working, so its GIS methods are also unique. A successful
GIS operates according to a well-designed plan and business rules, which are the models and
operating practices unique to each organization.
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.17
1.8. PROPRIETARY AND OPEN SOURCE GIS SOFTWARE
1.8.1. AGISMap
AGIS for Windows is a mapping and simple GIS package specifically designed to be easy
to use, and distributed as shareware via the world wide web.

Platforms: Windows

1.8.2. Autodesk
Autodesk has a series of software applications designed to meet GIS needs in a variety of
areas that interfaces with their CAD software.

Platforms: Windows

1.8.3. Bentley Systems, Inc.

Bentley provides software for the “Design, construction, and operation of the world‟s
infrastructure”. The company‟s software serves the geospatial, building, plant, and civil vertical
markets in the areas of mapping, architecture, engineering, construction (AEC) and operations.
Bentley offers a wide range of products for surveying, GPS, photogrammetry, remote sensing,
imaging, conversion, mapping, cartography, and other geospatial applications built on
MicroStation Products: Bentley Map – Desktop GIS, Bentley Cadastre – Desktop land
management GIS, Bentley Descartes – Desktop image editing, analysis, and processing, Bentley
Geo Web Publisher – GIS web publishing and viewing, Bentley PowerMap Field – Field-enabled
GIS and redlining.

Platforms: Windows

1.8.4. Cartographica
Commercial software package for Mac OS featuring: Support for a huge number of import
formats, including popular Raster formats, manual editing and georeferencing, automatic
geocoding, integration with online mapping, output to large-format printers. Thirty-day demo
available for download.

Platforms: Macintosh

1.8.5. DeLorme
DeLorme is the producers of XMap, a GIS application “with 80% of the functionality
found in a traditional GIS at 15% of the cost”. Performs such functions as geocoding, image
rectification, 3D visualization and coordinate transformation.

Platforms: Windows

1.8.6. Esri
Environmental Systems Research Institue has been creating GIS software for over 30
years. Recognized as the leader in GIS software, it‟s been estimated that about seventy percent of
1.18 GIS
GIS users use Esri products. Esri overhauled their software packages into an interoperable model
called ArcGIS (the desktop GIS is referred to as ArcMap). In addition, Esri has developed plug-
ins called extensions which add to the functionality of ArcGIS. Demo and light versions of Esri
software are available for downloading. You can also find free data to use with Esri products.
Platforms: Windows
Further Resources: ArcGIS, ArcView 3.x (no longer in production)

1.8.7. Intergraph
Intergraph makes several GIS applications. Most of the GIS packages are designed with an
Open GIS in mind and therefore can work with a variety of other GIS software formats.
Intergraph has developed products that help merge GIS with information technology (IT) and
business process improvement tools. Intergraph offers the Geo-Media family of solutions and
Modular GIS Environment MGE Suite of mapping and GIS applications.

Using an open architecture, the Geo-Media product suite integrates geospatial information
throughout the enterprise and provides the tools needed to develop business-to-business and
custom client applications using industry standard development tools. Geo-Media offers
uninhibited access to all geospatial data formats without the need for data translations. Currently
in Version 4.0 the Geo-Media family is made up of Geo-Media, Geo-Media Professional, Geo
Media Web Map, and Geo Media Web Enterprise.
• GeoMedia is the universal information integrator, serving as a visualization and
analysis tool and as an open platform for custom GIS solution development.
• GeoMedia Professional is a product specifically designed to collect and manage
spatial data using standard databases.
• GeoMedia WebMap is a Web-based map visualization tool with real-time links to one
or more GIS data warehouses.
• GeoMedia WebEnterprise creates dynamic, custom web-mapping applications that can
analyze and manipulate geographic data.
• In addition to these products, Intergraph offers MFworks for GeoMedia which
provides users of grid-based software the power of visualization, mapping, and
analysis. Intergraph also offers SMMS for GeoMedia which is a desktop tool for
geographic metadata creation and geographic data management.
The Modular GIS Environment (MGE) product suite provides production-ready
capabilities for automating, managing, analyzing, and presenting GIS data, and is completely
interoperable with GeoMedia.

1.8.8. Manifold
Manifold System provides comprehensive, professional grade GIS software for $245 that
includes a very wide array of features. Manifold imports data from over 80 different GIS formats,
including all formats used by Federal government sites for free Internet downloads, and Manifold
allows seamless, simultaneous work with vector drawings, raster images, terrain elevations and
raster data sets either as 2D displays or 3D terrain visualizations. Manifold includes exceptional
DBMS capabilities, full development facilities and includes a built-in Internet Map Server for fast
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.19
and easy publication of GIS projects to the web without programming. Options include US Street
address geocoding and the Enterprise Edition, for centralized geospatial data storage on enterprise
servers that can be used by many GIS operators at once. Manifold was the first GIS to attain
“designed for XP” status with Microsoft and the Manifold Internet Map Server works perfectly
within [Link] servers. For info, see [Link]

Platforms: Windows

1.8.9. Ortelius
Ortelius is a “map illustration” software package that adds one more selection to the very
limited mapping software options out there for Macintosh users. A free trial download is
available.

Platforms: Macintosh

1.8.10. MapInfo – Pitney Bowes Business Insight (PBBI)

PBBI‟s flagship software is MapInfo, a suite of GIS software. MapInfo Professional is
their leading GIS product containing the most advanced analytical tools. MapInfo also offers plug-
ins called add-ons to enhance the functionality of MapInfo Professional. For the development
side, MapInfo offers Map-X. Through an Active X component, developers can embed mapping
applications into other applications such as Excel. Although it can be used for a variety of
analysis, the makers of MapInfo market the software more towards the business sector. Demo
versions are available for downloading for some of MapInfo‟s products.
Platforms: Windows OS
Further Resources: MapInfo, MapBasic, MapInfo Tutorials

1.8.11 Maptitude
The Maptitude Mapping Software is a full-featured mapping package for Windows.
Designed for ease-of-use, data visualization and geographic analysis, Maptitude comes with
comprehensive nationwide and worldwide maps, including complete US street maps, and Census
tract and ZIP Code boundaries and demographics. Caliper also produces TransCAD for
transportation and logistics. TransCAD is used for solving key analytical problems in
transportation planning, management, and operations. TransCAD is used extensively for
transportation database development and maintenance, demand forecasting, operations
management, and vehicle routing and scheduling.

Platforms: Windows OS

1.8.12. MyWorld
My World GIS is a full-featured GIS designed for educational use. My World provides a
carefully selected subset of the features of a professional GIS environment. These features include
multiple geographic projections, table and map views of data, distance-measurement tools,
buffering and query operations, customizable map display. They have been selected to provide the
greatest value to students without overwhelming them with complexity The features are accessed
through a supportive interface designed with the needs of students and teachers in mind. My
1.20 GIS
World can import data from the industry-standard shapefile format, as well as from tab and
comma-delimited text files.

Platforms: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Solaris

1.8.13 Supergeo Technologies

SuperGIS Desktop is a full-featured GIS platform for Windows OS. It allows users to edit,
visualize, manage and analyze geospatial data both in vector and raster, including OGC formats
and various geodatabases, such as MSSQL, Oracle spatial, and PostGIS. Capabilities can be
powered up via extensions such as Network Analyst, 3D Analyst, Spatial Analyst, Biodiversity
Analyst, etc., which enables users to conduct complicated analyses and make smarter decisions.
By combing Mobile GIS and Server GIS also from Supergeo, you can have a total geospatial
solution from data collection in field to data publishing online with reasonable price. The free trial
is available on Supergeo‟s website. Various product resources and friendly technical support are
also provided by Supergeo team.

Platforms: Windows OS

1.8.14. TatukGIS Editor

Professional, general-purpose desktop GIS mapping and data editing application with
built-in scripting environment for customization and feature extensions. Natively supports most
GIS/CAD raster/vector/SQL layer data formats, including enterprise spatial geodatabases (such as
Oracle Spatial, PostGIS …) State-of-the-art coordinate system support with nearly 5,000 pre-
defined coordinate systems and on-the-fly raster/vector layer reprojection, 3D mapping, raster &
vector layer rectification, and compatibility with leading database products. Data grid with
advanced query and selection tools.

Platforms: Windows OS

1.8.15. Terrain Tools

Terrain Tools, produced by Softree, is a software package for surveying and mapping. It is
ideal for the forester, geologist, surveyor or resource scientist who is not a GIS specialist, but who
needs to quickly produce working maps and site plans.

Platforms: Windows

1.8.16. TerrSet Geospatial Monitoring and Modeling System

Developed by Clark Labs, TerrSet is an integrated geospatial software for monitoring and
modeling the earth system. The TerrSet software incorporates the IDRISI GISt Analysis and
IDRISI Image Processing tools along with a constellation of modeling environments to analyze
land change, image time series, ecosystem services, habitat and biodiversity, climate impacts, and
REDD. Learn more at [Link].

Platforms: Windows
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.21
1.8.17. TNT Products
Created by Microimages, The TNT Products is a suite of GIS applications for fully
integrated GIS, image processing, CAD, TIN, desktop cartography, and geospatial database
management.

Platforms: Windows, UNIX, Macintosh

1.9. OPEN SOURCE GIS SOFTWARE

(i) From the UNH Cooperative Extension course "GIS on Pennies a Day," this is a
list of freely available, open source GIS software. You can download and use the
software.

(ii) QGIS and DIVA-GIS are more widely used than the others. Both have MAC
versions available for downloading.

1.9.1. Quantum GIS (QGIS)

Quantum GIS (QGIS) is a user friendly Open Source Geographic Information System
(GIS) licensed under the GNU General Public License. QGIS is an official project of the Open
Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo). It runs on Linux, Unix, Mac OSX, and Windows and
supports numerous vector, raster, and database formats and functionalities.

1.9.2. DIVA-GIS
DIVA-GIS are a free computer program for mapping and geographic data analysis (a
geographic information system (GIS).

1.9.3. Free QGIS Courses from Geo-Academy

Geo-Academy is an independent consortium promoting the use of open source geospatial
software. These free courses are based on years of development of their fee-based coursework.
These are other open source GIS software available via the web.

1.9.4. GeoDa
GeoDa is a free GIS software program primarily used to introduce new users into spatial
data analysis. It‟s main functionality is data exploration in statistics.

One of the nicest things about it is how it comes with sample data for you to give a test-
drive. From simple box-plots all the way to regression statistics, GeoDa has complete arsenal of
statistics to do nearly anything spatially.

It‟s user base is strong. For example, Harvard, MIT and Cornell universities have
embraced this free GIS software to serve as a gentle introduction to spatial analysis for non-GIS
users. From economic development to health and real estate, it‟s been used as an exciting
analytical in labs as well.
1.22 GIS
From the Center for Spatial Data Science at the University of Chicago, software for
geospatial analysis, geovisualization and other techniques.

1.9.5. gvSIG
In 2004, the gvSIG project emerged as a free, open source GIS software option in Spain.
We illustrate in this gvSIG guide and review why we like it SO much:

gvSIG really outperforms QGIS 2 for 3D. It really is the best 3D visualization available in
open source GIS.

The NavTable is agile in that it allows you to see records one-by-one vertically.

The CAD tools are impressive on gvSIG. Thanks to the OpenCAD Tools, you can trace
geometries, edit vertices, snap and split lines and polygons. If you need GIS on your mobile
phone, gvSIG Mobile is perfect for field work because of its interface and GPS tools.

1.9.6. MapWindow GIS

An open source GIS software that is being used in History. For more information on its
use in History, a manual and exercises.

1.9.7. SAGA (System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses)

SAGA is a free, open source GIS software used for raster-based analyses and the Earth
Sciences.

1.9.8. uDig
uDIG is an acronym to help get a better understanding what this Free GIS software is all
about.
• u stands for user-friendly interface
• D stands for desktop (Windows, Mac or Linux). You can run uDIG on a Mac.
• I stand for internet oriented consuming standard (WMS, WFS or WPS)
• G stands for GIS-ready for complex analytical capabilities.
When you start digging into uDig, it‟s a nice open source GIS software option for basic
mapping. uDig‟s Mapnik lets you import basemaps with the same tune as ArcGIS

Specifically, its easy-to-use, the catalog, symbology and Mac OS functionality are some of
the strong points. But it has limited tools and the bugs bog it down to really utilize it as a truly
complete free GIS software package.

1.9.9 Environmental Benefits Mapping & Analysis Program (BenMAP)

BenMAP-CE is a open-source software program that calculates the number and economic
value of air pollution-related deaths and illnesses. It incorporates a database that includes many of
the concentration-response relationships, population files, and health and economic data needed to
quantify these impacts. This is the Community Edition.
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.23
1.10. DATA TYPES
The basic data type in a GIS reflects traditional data found on a map. Accordingly, GIS
technology utilizes two basic types of data. These are:

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.

Attribute Data:
The attributes refer to the properties of spatial entities. They are often referred to as non-
spatial data since they do not in themselves represent location information. This type of 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:
Geographic position refers to the fact that each feature has a location that must be
specified in a unique way. To specify the position in an absolute way a coordinate system is used.
For small areas, the simplest coordinate system is the . For larger areas, certain approved
cartographic projections are commonly used. Internationally there are many different coordinate
systems in use. This locational information is provided in maps by using Points, Lines and
Polygons. These geometric descriptions are the basic data elements of a map. Thus spatial data
describes the absolute and relative location of geographic features.

Fig1: Map projection Fig 2: Regular square grid

The coordinate location of a forest would be spatial data, while the characteristics of that
forest, e.g. cover group, dominant species, crown closure, height, etc., would be attribute data.
Other data types, in particular image and multimedia data, have become more prevalent with
changing technology. Depending on the specific content of the data, image data may be
considered either spatial, e.g. photographs, animation, movies, etc., or attribute, e.g. sound,
descriptions, narration‟s, etc.

1.10.1. Spatial Data

• Describes the absolute and relative location of geographic features.
• Represents spatial data, which has a physical dimension on earth.
• Spatial data consist of digital representations of discrete (spatial) objects. The features
1.24 GIS
• are shown on a map, e.g. lakes, buildings and contours can be thought of as discrete
objects.
• Thus the contents of a map can be captured in a database by turning map features into
database objects (entities).
• Components of spatial data.
Location: The spatial mode of information is generally called location.

Spatial relationship: The connections between spatial objects are described as spatial
relationships (e.g. A contains B; A is adjacent to B, A is North of B, etc.)
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.25
Attributes: Attributes capture the thematic mode by defining different characteristics of objects.
Spatial features in the real world are reduced in the form of point, line, area and surface. GIS will
store the data either in tabular form, geographical map, digital map or remotely sensed map.

1.10.2. Non-Spatial Data

The non-spatial data or the attribute data, on the other hand, describes the characteristics
of the spatial features. These characteristics can be quantitative or qualitative, also called attribute
data.
• Describes the characteristics of the spatial features.
• It holds the characteristics of the spatial features and the descriptive information about
the geographic features.
• Represented using colors, textures and symbols.
• Eg: Coordinate location of a sanctuary would be spatial data, while the characteristic‟s
like the cover group, dominant species, nature of vegetation would be attribute data.
• These attributes are given in an organized from in a single table or multiple tables.

1.10.3. Spatial Data Models

Traditionally spatial data has been stored and presented in the form of a map. Three basic
types of spatial data models have evolved for storing geographic data digitally. These are referred
to as:
(i) Vector data
(ii) Raster data
(iii) Image data

The following diagram reflects the two primary spatial data encoding techniques. These
are vector and raster. Image data utilizes techniques very similar to raster data, however typically
lacks the internal formats required for analysis and modeling of the data. Images reflect pictures or
photographs of the landscape.
 1.26 GIS

Types of Data in GIS

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) use different types of data to represent real-world geographic
features. Each data type is suitable for specific kinds of information and analysis. The three main data
types used in GIS are Vector Data, Raster Data, and Image Data.

(i) Vector Data

The vector data model represents the real world using geometric shapes: points, lines, and polygons.
Each feature has a precise location determined by coordinates (x, y), and each feature is linked to an
attribute table storing descriptive information. For example, a city can be represented as a point, a road as
a line, and a park or lake as a polygon. Vector data is highly accurate and suitable for features that have
clear boundaries or are discrete objects.
Vector data is coordinate-based, meaning every point, line vertex, and polygon vertex has a specific
latitude and longitude. The main advantage of vectors is that they allow high precision, excellent mapping
quality, and complex spatial analysis. Operations like overlaying layers, buffering, and network analysis
are easier with vector data. For example, finding the shortest path between two locations uses vector lines
for roads.
However, the vector model has limitations. Representing continuous phenomena, like rainfall or
elevation, is difficult because vectors are best suited for discrete features. Creating vector data can also be
time-consuming, as it often involves digitizing features from maps or images. Vector data is stored in
formats like Shapefiles (.shp), GeoJSON, KML, or Geodatabases (GDB), which store geometry and link
it to attributes.
Vector data finds its applications in urban planning (roads, buildings, land parcels), transportation
networks, environmental monitoring (protected areas, wetlands), utilities management (pipelines, electric
lines), and cadastral mapping. In summary, the vector model is best for discrete, well-defined features
requiring high positional accuracy and detailed analysis.

(ii) Raster Data

The raster data represents the real world as a grid of cells or pixels, where each cell has a value
representing a feature or attribute. Raster is ideal for continuous phenomena, such as elevation,
temperature, rainfall, soil moisture, or satellite imagery. Each cell has a fixed location and size
(resolution), and the value in the cell can be numeric (like elevation) or categorical (like land use
type).
Raster grids can be single-band (one value per cell) or multi-band (multiple values per cell), like
RGB bands in satellite images. The cell size determines the level of detail; smaller cells provide
higher resolution but result in larger file sizes, while larger cells reduce detail but save storage.
Raster data is easy to process for spatial analysis such as overlaying layers, calculating slope or
aspect, modeling floods, and analyzing environmental patterns.
The main limitation of raster data is lower positional precision for discrete features, since
everything is represented in a grid. High-resolution raster files can be very large, and each cell
typically stores only one value, limiting the type of attribute information. Raster formats include
GeoTIFF, GRID, IMG, and JPEG2000.
Raster data is widely used in environmental monitoring, terrain modeling (DEMs), agriculture
(crop health via NDVI), remote sensing, and continuous surface analysis. Essentially, raster data
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.27

is best for representing continuous phenomena and for analyses where grid-based calculations
are required.

Vector vs Raster – Detailed Comparison

Vector and raster data models are complementary in GIS. Vector is precise, efficient for discrete
features, and ideal for mapping objects like roads, buildings, and boundaries. Raster is suitable
for continuous surfaces, environmental modeling, and satellite imagery. Vector data uses points,
lines, and polygons; raster uses grid cells. Analysis in vector involves topology and geometry,

while raster analysis involves cell-based calculations like slope, distance, and surface modeling.
Vector has high cartographic quality, but raster is better for simulations, environmental
modeling, and image processing.
Choosing between vector and raster depends on the type of feature, analysis, and data
availability.
Many modern GIS projects combine both models: vector layers for discrete infrastructure and raster
layers for environmental variables.

(iii) Image Data

Definition
Image data is a special form of raster data collected using satellites, drones, and aerial cameras. It
provides a visual representation of the Earth’s surface.

Types of Image Data

• Aerial photographs
• Satellite images
• Drone imagery

Characteristics of Image Data

• Consists of pixels with brightness values
• May contain multiple spectral bands (RGB, infrared)
• Requires preprocessing before GIS use

Image Preprocessing Steps

• Georeferencing
• Radiometric correction
• Image enhancement

Applications of Image Data

• Land use and land cover mapping
• Disaster management (floods, earthquakes)
• Agriculture monitoring
 1.28 GIS
• Urban growth analysis

Advantages
• Covers large geographic areas
• Provides real-world visual information
• Useful for temporal change detection

Limitations
• Very large data size
• Requires image processing knowledge
• Interpretation can be subjective

Comparison of GIS Data Types

Feature Vector Data Raster Data Image Data
Data Structure Points, lines, polygons Grid cells Pixels
Best For Discrete features Continuous data Visual analysis
Accuracy High Medium Medium
Storage Low High Very high
Examples Roads, cities Elevation, rainfall Satellite images

Conclusion
Vector, raster, and image data are fundamental components of GIS. Vector data is ideal for precise and
discrete features, raster data is best for continuous surfaces, and image data provides real-world visual
information. A GIS system often uses all three types together to perform comprehensive spatial analysis
and decision-making.
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.29
1.10.4. Attribute Data Models
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). A variety of different data models exist for
the storage and management of attribute data. The most common are:
• Tabular
• Hierarchical
• Network
• Relational
• Object oriented

Tabular Model

GIS uses different data models to store, manage, and analyze geographic information. A data model is
essentially a blueprint that tells the system how data is organized, how it relates to other data, and how it
can be queried or analyzed. The tabular model is the simplest and earliest form of data storage. In this
model, information is stored in rows and columns, much like a spreadsheet. Each row represents a feature,
such as a city, road, or land parcel, while each column represents an attribute of that feature, like its name,
population, or area. This model is easy to create, edit, and understand, making it suitable for small
datasets or basic GIS projects. However, it does not handle relationships between features, leading to
redundancy and inefficiency for complex datasets.

Hierarchical Model

To address the need for representing hierarchical relationships, the hierarchical model was
developed. This model arranges data in a tree-like structure, where each parent can have multiple
children but each child has only one parent. For example, a country can have multiple states, each
state can have multiple cities, and each city can have multiple neighborhoods. This structure is
intuitive and fast for top-down queries, such as aggregating population statistics from city to state
to country. However, it is inflexible, making updates difficult, and cannot represent many-to-many
relationships, which limits its use for complex GIS systems.

Network Model

The network model was introduced to overcome the limitations of hierarchical models, particularly
for systems with complex many-to-many relationships. In this model, data is represented as nodes
and links, where nodes are entities like intersections or stations and links are the connections
between them, such as roads or pipelines. This allows analysis of connected systems, making it
ideal for road networks, utility networks, and transportation planning. It supports routing, flow
analysis, and shortest path calculations. While powerful, the network model is complex to design
and maintain, requiring specialized knowledge and software.

Relational Model

The relational model became popular because it solved the inefficiencies of tabular,
hierarchical, and network models. In this model, data is stored in multiple tables that are linked
through keys. Each table contains related data, and a primary key in one table can link to a
foreign key in another table, reducing redundancy and increasing flexibility. For instance, a city
table may contain city names and IDs, while a separate population table contains population
figures, linked through the city ID. This model is widely used in modern GIS systems and
 1.30 GIS
allows efficient querying, updating, and management of large datasets. Its main limitation is
that it requires proper database design and management knowledge, though it is highly suitable
for multi-layered GIS analysis.

Object-Oriented Model
The object-oriented model represents the most advanced form of data modeling in GIS. Instead of
storing data as separate tables, it represents features as objects that contain both data (attributes) and
behavior (methods). Objects are created from classes and can inherit properties from parent classes
while encapsulating their own unique data and actions. For example, a river object may store its
length, width, and flow rate as attributes, while methods associated with it can calculate flood risk or
water volume. This model closely mirrors real-world systems and is useful for 3D GIS, smart city
simulations, and real-time environmental monitoring. While powerful, it requires advanced
programming knowledge and careful design.
Summary:
In summary, GIS data models have evolved from simple tabular storage to complex object-oriented
systems to address the increasing complexity and size of geographic data. The tabular model
provides simplicity, the hierarchical model introduces structured parent-child relationships, the
network model handles complex connections, the relational model manages large, linked datasets
efficiently, and the object-oriented model allows realistic representation of features with behavior.
Modern GIS applications often rely on a combination of these models to store, manage, and analyze
spatial and non-spatial data effectively, making geographic information systems powerful tools for
decision-making and planning.

1.11. TYPES OF ATTRIBUTE DATA

Attribute data can be store as one of five different field types in a table or database:
character, integer, floating, date, and BLOB.

1.11.1. Character Data

The character property (or string) is for text based values such as the name of a street or
descriptive values such as the condition of a street. Character attribute data is stored as a series of
alphanumeric symbols.

Aside from descriptors, character fields can contain other attribute values such as
categories and ranks. For example, a character field may contain the categories for a street:
avenue, boulevard, lane, or highway. A character field could also contain the rank, which is a
relative ordering of features. For example, a ranking of the traffic load of the street with “1” being
the street with the highest traffic.

Character data can be sorted in ascending (A to Z) and descending (Z to A) order. Since

numbers are considered text in this field, those numbers will be sorted alphabetically which means
that a number sequence of 1, 2, 9, 11, 13, 22 would be sorted in ascending order as 1, 11, 13, 2,
22, 9.

Because character data is not numeric, calculations (sum, average, median, etc.) can‟t be
performed on this type of field, even if the value stored in the field are numbers (to do that, the
field type would need to be converted to a numeric field). Character fields can be summarized to
produced counts (e.g. the number of features that have been categorized as “avenue”).
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.31
1.11.2. Numeric Data
Integer and floating are numerical values (see: the difference between floating and integer
values). Within the integer type, the is a further division between short and long integer values.
As would be expected, short integers store numeric values without fractional values for a shorter
range than long integers. Floating point attribute values store numeric values with fractional
values. Therefore, floating point values are for numeric values with decimal points (i.e numbers to
the right of the decimal point as opposed to whole values).

Numeric values will be sorted in sequentially either in ascending (1 to 10) or descending

(10 to 1) order. Numerical value fields can have operations performed such as calculating the sum
or average value. Numerical field values can be a count (e.g. the total number of students at a
school) or be a ratio (e.g. the percentage of students that are girls at a school).

1.11.3. Date/Time Data

Date fields contains date and time values.

1.11.4. BLOB Data

Fig.1.11. Attribute data for a road in gis.

BLOB stands for binary large object and this attribute type is used for storing information
such images, multimedia, or bits of code in a field. This field stores object linking and embedding
(OLE) which are objects created in other applications such as images and multimedia and linked
from the BLOB field Attribute data for a road in gis.

1.12. SCALE OF MEASUREMENT/LEVEL OF MEASUREMENTS

Types of Attribute Data:
Types used in a GIS and in computer programming include character strings, integers,
floating points or real numbers, dates and time intervals. Each field in an attribute table is defined
with a data type, which applies to the domain of the field.
1.32 GIS
Another method is to define attribute data by measurement scale. The measurement scale
concept groups attribute data into nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio data.

Nominal Data:
Nominal data describe different kinds of different categories of data such as land use types
or soil types.

Ordinal Data:
Ordinal data differentiate data by ranking relationship. For example-cities may be grouped
into large, medium and small cities by population size.

Interval Data:
Interval data have known intervals between values such as temperature reading. For
example- a temperature reading of 700 F is warmer than 600 F by 100 F.

Ratio Data:
Ratio data are the same as interval data except that ratio data are based on a meaningful or
absolute zero value. Population densities are an example of ratio data, because a density of 0 is an
absolute zero.

Measurement scale (or level) of attribute can be broadly divided into two categories. Some
attribute are measured in a numerical scale (such as job accessibility) whereas others are not (such
as world language)

Distribution of Indian tribes & language:

Fig.1.12. National Atlas of United States

 Fundamentals of GIS 1.33
This map can be fallen into qualitative thematic map because the measurement level of
attribute portrayed (tribe/language) is nominal (not measured in number), and displays one or
more particular themes.

Distribution of urban and rural population

Fig.1.13. National Atlas of United States

This map can be fallen into quantitative thematic map because the measurement level of
attributed portrayed (population) is countable (measure in number), and displays one particular
theme.

More specifically, measurement of attributes is organized into four levels: nominal,

ordinal, interval, and ratio, listed in increasing order of sophistication of measurement

1.12.1. Nominal scaling

Only has a value either 0 or 1 (false or true)
Suppose we have two values say region A and region B; we can‟t determine if A > B or
A < B, but we can determine if A=\=B or A = B.
e.g. agricultural region (corn regions, wheat regions, soy-bean regions)
Political party affiliation (Democrat, Republican, Independent)
Sex (male, female)
Response (yes, no)
1.34 GIS
1.12.2. Ordinal scaling
Value is arranged in a hierarchy of rank
Can determine if A > B or A < B, but can‟t determine how much they are different
e.g. social power (more, less)
agreement (strongly agree, strongly disagree)
Order of arrival of contestants in footrace
Women's race Men‟s race
First Jane Tom
Second Melissa Dick
Third Leila Harry

1.12.3. Interval scaling

Ranked
Know the distance between ranks
But it is not measured in an absolute scale; they are relative (has no natural origin)
e.g. Fahrenheit

1.12.4. Ratio scaling

Ranked
Know the distance between ranks
It is measured in an absolute scale (has a natural origin)
e.g. weight, elevation
convey more information and permit more analytical treatment

Level of measurement prescribe the information required for an attribute reference system
Level of measurement Information required
Nominal Definitions of categories
Ordinal Definitions of categories plus ordering
Interval Unit of measure plus zero point
Ratio Unit of measure
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.35

GIS Operations / Functions

GIS operations are the core activities that allow GIS to convert raw geographic data into meaningful
information for decision-making.
These operations can be divided into four main stages:
1. Data Input
2. Data Storage & Management
3. Data Analysis
4. Data Visualization

1. Data Input
Data input is the first and most important step in GIS.
It involves collecting and converting real-world information into digital GIS format.
1.1 Digitizing
Digitizing is the process of converting paper maps into digital vector data.
• Features are traced on a map to create:
o Points (walls, trees)
o Lines (roads, rivers)
o Polygons (cities, land parcels)
Types of digitizing:
• Manual digitizing: Tracing features using a mouse or digitizing tablet
• Heads-up digitizing: Tracing features directly on a scanned map or satellite image
Example:
A paper map showing roads is digitized to create a digital road network layer.

1.2 Scanning
Scanning converts paper maps into raster images.
• A scanner converts maps into image formats (JPEG, TIFF)
• These images do not yet contain coordinates
• They must be georeferenced to match real-world locations
Example:
An old land-use map is scanned and then aligned with real coordinates.

1.3 GPS Data

GPS (Global Positioning System) is used to collect real-time geographic coordinates.
• Provides accurate latitude, longitude, and elevation
• Used for field surveys and ground truth data
Example:
• Recording locations of hospitals
• Mapping tree locations in a forest

1.4 Remote Sensing Data

Remote sensing uses satellites and drones to collect large-scale spatial data.
• Produces raster data
• Used for land cover, vegetation, water bodies, climate monitoring
Examples:
• Satellite images for flood mapping
• Drone images for crop health analysis

2. Data Storage & Management

After data is collected, it must be stored efficiently and managed properly.
2.1 GIS Databases
GIS uses databases to store spatial data + attribute data together.
Types of Databases
Hierarchical Database
• Data stored in parent–child structure
 1.36 GIS
• One-to-many relationship
• Difficult to update
Example:
Country → Province → City

Network Database
• Data stored as connected records
• Supports many-to-many relationships
• More flexible than hierarchical
Example:
Road networks with multiple connections

Relational Database
• Data stored in tables
• Tables connected using keys
• Easy to update, query, and analyze
Example:
A city table linked to a population table using city ID
Most GIS systems use relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, Oracle Spatial).

3. Data Analysis
Data analysis is the most powerful function of GIS.
It answers “what”, “where”, and “why” questions.

3.1 Spatial Analysis

Spatial analysis studies relationships between geographic features.
Overlay Analysis
• Combines multiple map layers
• Finds relationships between layers
Example:
Overlay flood zones with residential areas to find risk zones.

Buffering
• Creates a zone around a feature
• Used to measure impact or influence
Example:
Create a 500-meter buffer around a river to identify flood-prone areas.

Proximity Analysis
• Measures distance between features
Example:
Find houses within 2 km of hospitals.

3.2 Network Analysis

Network analysis works with connected systems such as roads and pipelines.
Shortest Path Analysis
• Finds the minimum distance or time between two locations
Example:
Shortest route from ambulance station to accident site.

Routing Analysis
• Optimizes routes for multiple destinations
Example:
Delivery vehicle route planning.
 Fundamentals of GIS 1.37

3.3 Statistical Analysis

Statistical analysis extracts numerical patterns from spatial data.
Zonal Statistics
• Calculates statistics for specific areas (zones)
Example:
Average rainfall per district.

Trend Analysis
• Studies changes over time
Example:
Urban expansion over 10 years using satellite images.

4. Data Visualization
Visualization is the final step where results are presented in a clear and understandable form.

4.1 Maps
Maps are the primary output of GIS.
• Thematic maps
• Choropleth maps
• Heat maps
Example:
Population density map of a city.

4.2 3D Modeling
3D GIS represents terrain and buildings in three dimensions.
• Elevation models
• City modeling
• Flood simulation
Example:
3D terrain model to analyze landslide risk.

4.3 Charts and Graphs

GIS can generate:
• Bar charts
• Pie charts
• Line graphs
Example:
Graph showing population growth per year.

Why GIS Operations Are Important

• Transform raw data into useful information
• Support planning and decision-making
• Used in urban planning, disaster management, agriculture, health, transportation

Easy Flow to Remember

Input → Store → Analyze → Visualize → Decide