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Raster Data and Vector Data.

The document discusses the differences between vector and raster data models in geographic information systems (GIS). Vector data represents geographic features as points, lines, and polygons, while raster data represents the world as a grid of cells, with each cell containing attribute data. The key difference is that vector data is discrete while raster data varies continuously and stores data in a grid format. An example diagram shows how the same geographic features can be represented in both vector and raster formats.

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139 views

Raster Data and Vector Data.

The document discusses the differences between vector and raster data models in geographic information systems (GIS). Vector data represents geographic features as points, lines, and polygons, while raster data represents the world as a grid of cells, with each cell containing attribute data. The key difference is that vector data is discrete while raster data varies continuously and stores data in a grid format. An example diagram shows how the same geographic features can be represented in both vector and raster formats.

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What is the difference between Vector and Raster data models?


15 [duplicate]
raster vector terminology

This question already has an answer here:


What are Raster and Vector data in GIS and when to use? 7 answers

From: http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/GISDictionary
/term/vector%20data%20model

vector data model: [data models] A representation of the world using


points, lines, and polygons. Vector models are useful for storing data that
has discrete boundaries, such as country borders, land parcels, and
streets.

raster data model: [data models] A representation of the world as a


surface divided into a regular grid of cells. Raster models are useful for
storing data that varies continuously, as in an aerial photograph, a
satellite image, a surface of chemical concentrations, or an elevation
surface.

All I have understood from the above is that both vector and raster data
constitute of "latitudes and longitudes", only. The difference is in the way
they are displayed.

Latitudes and Longitudes in Vector data are displayed in the form of lines,
points, etc.

Latitudes and Longitudes in Raster data are displayed in the form of closed
shapes where each pixel has a particular latitude and longitude associated
with it.

Is my understanding correct?

share improve this question

Aquarius_Girl asked
223 ● 2 ● 5 ● 13 Apr 4 '13 at 9:31

marked as duplicate by RyanDalton, Devdatta Tengshe, Aaron ♦, whuber ♦ Apr 4 '13 at 14:59
This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully
address your question, please ask a new question.
you can find your answer in gis.stackexchange.com : see [What are Raster and
Vector data in GIS and when to use?][1] [1]: gis.stackexchange.com/questions
/7077/… – wetland Apr 4 '13 at 13:26

@wetland that thread did not show up in "similar threads". Thanks, I'll look it up.
–  Aquarius_Girl Apr 4 '13 at 13:28

add a comment

1 Answer order by votes


In GIS, vector and raster are two different ways of representing
23 spatial data. However, the distinction between vector and raster data
types is not unique to GIS: here is an example from the graphic
design world which might be clearer.

Raster data is made up of pixels (or cells), and each pixel has an
associated value. Simplifying slightly, a digital photograph is an
example of a raster dataset where each pixel value corresponds to a
particular colour. In GIS, the pixel values may represent elevation
above sea level, or chemical concentrations, or rainfall etc. The key
point is that all of this data is represented as a grid of (usually
square) cells. The difference between a digital elevation model
(DEM) in GIS and a digital photograph is that the DEM includes
additional information describing where the edges of the image are
located in the real world, together with how big each cell is on the
ground. This means that your GIS can position your raster images
(DEM, hillshade, slope map etc.) correctly relative to one another,
and this allows you to build up your map.

Vector data consists of individual points, which (for 2D data) are


stored as pairs of (x, y) co-ordinates. The points may be joined in a
particular order to create lines, or joined into closed rings to create
polygons, but all vector data fundamentally consists of lists of co-
ordinates that define vertices, together with rules to determine
whether and how those vertices are joined.

Note that whereas raster data consists of an array of regularly


spaced cells, the points in a vector dataset need not be regularly
spaced.

In many cases, both vector and raster representations of the same


data are possible:

At this scale, there is very little difference between the vector


representation and the "fine" (small pixel size) raster representation.
However, if you zoomed in closely, you'd see the polygon edges of
the fine raster would start to become pixelated, whereas the vector
representation would remain crisp. In the "coarse" raster the
pixelation is already clearly visible, even at this scale.

Vector and raster datasets have different strengths and weaknesses,


some of which are described in the thread linked to by @wetland.
When performing GIS analysis, it's important to think about the
most appropriate data format for your needs. In particular, careful
share improve this answer

JamesS answered
1,106 ● 1 ● 8 ● 14 Apr 4 '13 at 13:56

Community ♦ edited
1 Apr 13 '17 at 12:33

1 Upvoted for the diagram alone! – Devdatta Tengshe Apr 4 '13 at 14:38

Yours is an answer which can be easily understood by a layman. Thankful to you.


–  Aquarius_Girl Apr 11 '13 at 10:45

1 The Adobe link is not working, here is the correct one. – Timo Nov 23 '17 at 17:05

Good to know that raster gis is often faster than vector gis! – Timo Nov 23 '17 at
17:10

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