Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
A Information Technology and Geography B The Purpose of GIS C Organization of Information in a GIS
What is Information?
Database A Part No. 103521 105322 106832 104338 103922 Database B Qty 5 1 6 2 7 Description Wheel spoke Ball bearing Wheel rim Tire Handlebars
Information
Knowledge about something. Recorded in some way.
Information age
The computer has become the main mean of storing and accessing information. Tremendous amounts of digital information created:
Spreadsheets. Databases. Internet.
Address 123 James St. 22 Smith St. 9 Elm Dr. #4A 12 Fifth Ave. 1067 Park
What is Information?
Database B Date 1/22 1/26 2/24 3/02 3/10 Address 123 James St. 22 Smith St. 9 Elm Dr. #4A 12 Fifth Ave. 1067 Park Type Robbery Noise Assault Vandalism Robbery
Geocoding
James
What is Information?
Information System
Encoding
Low order task Repetitive
Information Systems
Dominant tool. Set of computer programs that are used to input (encode) information and store it in a structured manner. Can be retrieved, analyzed and, finally, reported as a table, graph, map or picture.
Analysis Reporting
What is Information?
Knowledge is power
Available Information
Pure Luck No Information
Sub-optimal Decisions
Imperfect Information
Optimal Decisions
Perfect Information
With perfect information, one should be able to make optimal decisions. Impossible to be perfectly informed, so decisions are always imperfect (sub-optimal).
A Taxonomy of Information
GIS
Land Use Name of places Spatial
Qualitative
Information
Quantitative
Aspatial
Coordinate system
Scale
Can be assigned coordinates or any spatial reference. On the surface of the earth. Involves location and organization.
Scale
Dynamics
Can be from general to specific. Simple to complex. A satellite can generate one terabyte (1012 bytes) of information per day.
Spatial dynamics (variations in space). Temporal dynamics (variations in time).
Time 1
Time 2
What is a GIS?
Geographic Information System
Form of Information System applied to geographical data. Produce information which will be useful in decision-making. Managing use of land, resources, transportation, retailing, oceans or any spatially distributed entities. Connection between the elements of the system is geography, e.g. location, proximity, spatial distribution.
What is a GIS?
Geographic Information System
Information Systems
Information system specializing in the input, storage, manipulation, analysis and reporting of geographical (spatially related) information.
Encoding
Management
Analysis
Reporting
Thematic maps
Query
Output: Display
What is a GIS?
Records
Fields
History of GIS
Prior to 1960
GISs origins lie in thematic cartography. Many planners used the method of map overlay using manual techniques.
History of GIS
The 1980s and 1990s
First commercial GIS Packages. Diffusion of Microcomputers. Integration with other software (mainly CAD and databases). US Census Bureau efforts in the 1980s:
Digitize spatial, economic and demographic attributes of the United States. Creation of the TIGER format (Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Reference ).
The 2000s
Integrated Information technologies with geography. Powerful applications on desktop computers. Web/network based data sources. Portable and inexpensive field GISs with GPS capabilities.
General Purpose
GIS is a database application
All information in a GIS is linked to a spatial reference. Other databases may contain locational information (street addresses, zip codes, etc.). GIS database uses geo-references as the primary means of storing and accessing information.
General Purpose
GIS is a tool
Must serve a purpose. Not an end in itself but a mean (process) to achieve this end. Should be viewed as a process rather than as software or hardware. For decision-thinking (scenarios) and decision-making (strategies). 75% of the time used to be spent at building the spatial database:
Acquiring data for a new GIS has become much simpler.
General Purpose
Advantage
Ability to integrate vast quantities of spatial information. Provide a powerful repertoire of analytical tools to explore this data. Ability to separate information in layers:
Combine it with other layers of information.
Disadvantage
Long process of encoding and verifying the integrity of information. Compatibility between different GIS (less an issue). Technology changes rapidly. Information overload.
General Purpose
GIS as an Integrating Technology
Evolved by linking a number of discrete technologies:
A whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
General Purpose
People
People Map user: end consumer. Cartographer: producer of the end product of a GIS. Analyst: applies methods to solve geographical problems. Database administrator: build, update and administer databases.
Software
GIS
Data
Data
Remote sensing images or aerial photographs. Topographic maps. Land records. Etc.
Hardware
General Purpose
The GIS Job Market
About 500,000 GIS users in the United States (another 500,000 for the rest of the world). 10% (50,000) are using GIS full-time. 15% growth each year. 75,000 people a year receive GIS training. Shortfall in training and advanced degrees. High demands to integrate GIS in all levels of the educational system.
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Rivers
Lakes
Roads
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Capitals
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Features
Layers contain features or surfaces Features
Real world objects. Natural or man-made. Represented on a map as a single entity. Each map feature has a location, shape, and symbol that represents one or more of its characteristics.
Surfaces
Some elements do not have a distinct shape. E.g. : elevation, slope, temperature, rainfall. Raster is the most common surface; composed of a grid.
Features
Points
Lines
Points represent objects that have discrete locations and are too small to be depicted as areas. Schools, traffic lights, crime locations, and park benches are examples of point features. Lines represent objects that have length but are too narrow to be depicted as areas. Freeways, streets, pipelines, and waterways are examples of line features.
Polygons represent objects too large to be depicted as points or lines. Parks, census tracts, postal codes, and trade areas are examples of polygon (or area) features.
Polygons
Attributes
Street name, Width, Direction, Lanes
Attributes
Features are stored in a database along with information describing them. The descriptive information stored with a feature. Attributes of a street might include its name, street type, length, street code, number of lanes, and pavement type. The attributes of a park may be its name, area, hours of operation, and maintenance schedule.
Attributes
Relationships
Features
Features and their attributes are linked. Types:
One feature as one record in a database. Many features to one record.
Attributes
Access the attributes for any feature or locate any feature from its attributes. Attributes are displayed in a spreadsheet-like ArcView document called a Table.
Attributes
Layout
Layout
A GIS links sets of features and their attributes and manages them together in units called layout.
Consists of a collection of geographic features. Attributes for those features.
Thematic map
A map (set of features) which visually represents a set of data (attributes) is called a thematic map.