Reference Text Book

• Data Exploration


  Examining and analyzing data to understand its characteristics and relationships
• Descriptive Statistics


  • Summarize the central tendency and dispersion of data
• Graphs


  Visual representations of data that help identify patterns and trends
• Dynamic Graphs


  Interactive graphs that allow users to explore data in real-time
• Data Classification


  Grouping data into categories based on common characteristics
• Spatial Aggregation


  Combining spatial data into larger units for analysis
• Map Comparison


  Analyzing differences between multiple maps
• SQL (Structured Query Language)


  A programming language used to manage and manipulate relational databases
• Query Expressions


  Statements that define the criteria for selecting data from a database
• Types of Query Operations

  • Select
  • Project
  • Join
  • Aggregate
• Relational Database Query


  Querying data stored in tables linked by common fields
• Feature Selection by Graphic


  Selecting spatial features on a map using graphical tools
• Feature Selection by Spatial Relationship

  Selecting spatial features based on their proximity or location relative to other features
• Query by Cell Value

  Selecting raster cells based on their attribute values
• Query by Select Features


  Selecting raster cells based on the spatial features they intersect
• Graphical user interface


  More user friendly, thus broadening the range of GIS applications and bringing GIS to mainstream use in the 1990s
• Commercial and free GIS packages appeared in the market

  1980s
• GIS packages developed in the 1980s

  • ARC/INFO
  • Microstation
  • GRASS
  • MapInfo
  • TransCAD
  • Smallworld
• ARC/INFO combined spatial features of points, lines, and polygons with a database management system for linking attributes to these features
• Microstation was a CAD software product developed by Bentley Systems, partnered with Intergraph
• As GIS continually evolves, two trends have emerged in recent years: 1) GIS has increasingly been integrated with other geospatial data such as satellite images and GPS data, 2) GIS has been linked with Web services, mobile technology, social media, and cloud computing
• Geospatial data


  Data that distinguishes GIS from other information systems and allows GIS to be used for integration of geospatial data and other data
• Components of a GIS

  • Hardware
  • Software
  • People
  • Organization
• Hardware


  • Computers for data processing, data storage, and input/output
  • Printers and plotters for reports and hard-copy maps
  • Digitizers and scanners for digitization of spatial data
  • GPS and mobile devices for fieldwork
• Software


  • Commercial or open source programs and applications to be executed by a computer for data management, data analysis, data display, and other tasks
  • Additional applications written in Python, JavaScript, VB.NET, or C++ for specific data analyses
  • Common user interfaces are menus, icons, and command lines, using an operating system such as Windows, Mac, or Linux
• People


  • GIS professionals define the purpose and objectives for using GIS and interpret and present the results
• Organization


  • GIS operations exist within an organizational environment and must be integrated into the culture and decision-making processes of the organization for such matters as the role and value of GIS, GIS training, data collection and dissemination, and data standards
• Origins of GIS in its present form lie in the application of rapidly developing computing tools, especially computer graphics, in a variety of fields such as urban planning, land management, and geocoding


  1960s and 1970s
• The first operational GIS is reported to have been developed by Roger Tomlinson in the early 1960s for storing, analyzing, and manipulating spatial data
• There are over 6000 certified GIS professionals, according to a press release from 2016
• Commercial GIS software


  • ArcGIS
  • AutoCAD Map3D and Autodesk Geospatial
  • Bentley Map
  • GeoMedia
  • Global Mapper
  • Manifold System
  • MapInfo
  • Maptitude
  • Smallworld
• Free and open source GIS software

  • GRASS
  • gvSIG
  • ILWIS
  • MapWindow
  • OpenJump
  • QGIS
  • SAGA GIS
  • uDig
• ArcGIS


  Composed of applications and extensions at three license levels (Basic, Standard, and Advanced) that determine the number of tools a user can have for data analysis, data editing, and data management
• ArcMap


  Introduced with ArcGIS 8 in 2000, with a large number of tools and functionalities incorporated over the years
• ArcGIS Pro


  Introduced in 2015, a new 64-bit application that runs only on a 64-bit operating system, can run faster by processing more data at once, and has features for viewing data in 2D and 3D simultaneously, working with multiple maps and layouts, using project-based workflows, and sharing finished maps directly online
• Figure 1.2 confirms strong integration between GIS and other geospatial data and between GIS and other geospatial technologies
• Numerous GIS textbooks have been published, and several journals and a variety of magazines are now devoted to GIS and GIS applications
• The importance of geospatial data has been "discovered" in fields such as public health, with publication of journals such as Geospatial Health, Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Epidemiology, and International Journal of Health Geographics
• Geographic coordinate system


  Expressed in longitude and latitude
• Projected coordinate system


  Expressed in x, y coordinates