Lecture 3 NUST Balochistan Campus

(Department of Civil Engineering)

Spatial Data Types

 Course contents
1. Introduction to CE 287, Objectives, Outcomes and Assessment Method.
2. Geographic information system and its basics
3. Spatial Data types and Acquiring consideration. Data models and Structures. Introduction to Spatial Analysis
4. Basic Geodesy/Map Projections, Coordinate System. Datum and Map Projection and their Transformation.
Attribute-based Operation
5. Introduction to remote sensing, Bands Used in Remote Sensing, Major Components of Remote Sensing
Technology: Remote Sensing applications
6. Earth Resources Satellites/ Platforms, Sensors, and types of Resolutions
7. Introduction to Photogrammetry and Air Survey
8. Global Positioning System, Navigational Satellites, Positioning Systems (GLONASS, GPS & Galileo).
Fundamentals and Elements of GPS. System Operation & Characteristics. Errors and Atmospheres Effects.
Differential GPS (DGPS).
 GIS Data type

GIS DATA can be classified into two main categories:

1. Spatial data

2. Attribute data or Non-spatial data

 GIS Data type
Spatial data

• Information about the locations and shapes of geographic features and the relationships
between them, usually stored as coordinates and topology, (ESRI)

• spatial data describes the absolute and

relative location of geographic features.
 GIS Data type

Coordinates

A set of values represented by the letters x, y, and optionally z or m (measure), that define a
position within a spatial reference.

Topology

Topology is the arrangement of how point, line, and polygon features share geometry.
 GIS Data type

:Attribute data or Non-spatial data

• Describes characteristics of the spatial

features.

• These characteristics can be quantitative

and/or qualitative in nature.
 Types of Spatial Data

➢ Spatial data are of two types

according to the storing
technique,

• Vector data

• Raster data.
 Data Models

• Data models are used for organizing spatial data for

GIS use

• Data model a set of guidelines to convert the real

world (called entity) to the digitally and logically
represented spatial objects consisting of the attributes
and geometry
 Vector Data Model

• 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, an streets.
 Vector Data Model

The vector data model prepares data in two basics steps so that the computer can
process the data.

➢ First, it uses points and X, Y coordinate store present the spatial features as Points,
Lines and Polygons.

➢ Second, it organizes geometric objects and their spatial relationships into digital data
files that the computer can access, interpret and process.
 Vector Data Model
POINT
• A point has zero dimension and has only the property of
location.
• A point feature is made of point or a set of separate
points.
• Wells, Poles, Trees, Towers etc.
 Vector Data Model
Line
• A line is one dimensional and has
the property of length, in addition
to location.

• A line has two end point sand

points in between to mark the
shape of line.
• Node and Vertex.

• Roads, Streams etc

 Vector Data Model

POLYGON
• A Polygon is two dimensional and has the properties of Area(Size)
and perimeter, in addition to location.

• Made of connected, closed, non intersecting line segments.

• Stand alone or Shared boundary.

• LandParcel, District Waterbody.

 Vector Data Model

Map scale

• Map scale refers to the relationship

(or ratio) between the distance on a
map and the corresponding distance
on the ground.

• For example, on a 1:100000 scale

map, 1cm on the map equals 1km on
the ground.
 Vector Data Model

Topology

Topology is employed in order to:

–Constrain how features share geometry.

For example, adjacent polygons such as parcels have share edges, street
centre lines and census blocks share geometry
Data Models
• A geographic data model is a structure for
organizing geospatial data so that it can be
easily stored and retrieved by defining
geographic data elements and their
interrelations.
 Coverage and Shapefile
Coverage

• A Coverage is a relational data model that stores vector data, it contains both spatial and
attribute data for a geographic feature.

• Coverages can have topology

Shapefile

• A shapefile stores non-topological geometry and attribute information for the spatial features
in a data set.

• The geometry for a feature is stored as a shape comprising a set of vector coordinates.
 Shapefile
• An ESRI shapefile consists of a main file, an index file, and a database table.

• Main file (The main file that stores the feature geometry, required): .shp
• Index file (Stores the index of the feature geometry, required : .shx

• dBASE table (stores the attribute information of features: required) .dbf

• Some other important files

• .sbn and .sbx: Store the spatial index of the features

• .prj: stores the coordinate system information

• .xml: Stores information about shapefile