Definition and

history of GIS

G. O. Enaruvbe
African Regional Institute for Geospatial
Information Science and Technology,
Obafemi Awolowo University Campus,
Ile-Ife, Nigeria
A definition for GIS
•Defining GIS is difficult
•Maguire (1991) provided a list of 11 definitions
by different scientists
•Each definition of GIS depends on the
background and viewpoint of who is giving it
•Rapid changes in technology and evolving
application areas also play key role in the
difficulty in GIS definition
Definitions of GIS contd
Definitions of GIS contd
 Definitions of GIS
❖ “A system of computer hardware, software, and
procedures designed to support the capture,
management, manipulation, analysis, modularity,
and display of spatially referenced data for
solving complex planning and management
problems”
❖ “A system of hardware, software, data, people,
organizations, and institutional arrangements for
collecting, storing, analyzing, and disseminating
information about areas of the earth”.
❖ “a computer based information system which
attempts to capture, store, manipulate and
display spatially referenced data (in different
points in time), for solving complex research,
planning and management problem”. 5
 Definitions of GIS contd
❖ A geographical information system is a special type of
management information system where space, location
and its attributes constitute the crucial points of reference.
Essentially, it is “a computerized database management
system for the capture, storage, retrieval, analysis and
display of spatial (locationally defined) data”.

❖ A geographic information system “is a computer assisted

system for digital storage of maps, along with tabular data
associated with map features, that permit the user to
produce customized maps, perform specialized database
queries, analyze complex relationships, apply models,
and assist in decision making’’

6
Historical development of GIS - 1/10
•A number of factors have accelerated the advancement
in GIS technology
•Advancement in Computer technology
• Decreasing costs of computer power
• Improvement in graphics technology
• Data access and storage methods
• Digitization
• Programming and
• Human-machine interfaces
• Development in systems theory
Historical development of GIS ~ 2/10
•GIS is a meeting point of •Hardware development:
many disciplines and •Screens
technologies: •Printers and
•Databases plotters
•Remote sensing •Input devices such
as digitizers an
•Global positioning scanners
systems •Computer cartography
•Computer-aided and spatial statistics
design and computer •Development of the
graphics system approach
Historical development of GIS ~ 3/10
•Though not all, starting in the 1960s, many of the
early development of GIS were in North America
and the UK
•In the USA:
•Public health services
•Forestry service
•Bureau of Census
•Harvard Graphics Laboratory
Historical development of GIS ~4/10
• The system approach
• The general system theory suggests that understanding
complexity requires modeling complexity
• Applying the macroscopic view of reality
• In solving problems, aspects of the real world can be modelled
as human or physical systems
• A meta-discipline, taking ideas from different areas and
applying it to many different fields
• GIS links fields of study such as cartography, Remote sensing,
Survey and geography with other disciplines to solve real world
problems
• GIS and the system theory have things in common (explain)
Historical development of GIS ~ 5/10
•Goodchild (1995) noted that the root of GIS
development was in the 1960s
•The adoption of the layer approach to map data
handling by the Canada Geographic Information
System (CGIS)
•The second major event was the pioneering work of
the US Bureau of Census that led to the digital input
of the 1970 Census
Historical development of GIS ~6/10
•These two innovations results in further work at the
Harvard Graphics Laboratory, leading to the
development of some of the first commercial GIS
software (Arc/Info)
•Improvements in the conversion of scanned data
into topologically coded data
•Implementation of computer-based methods for
efficient point-in-polygon analysis
Historical development of GIS ~7/10
•Further development in computer technologies in
the 1970s
•Launch of the NASA Landsat satellites into space
•Digitization of topographic maps in the UK to speed
up the production of paper maps
•Increased memory size and processing speed and
falling cost of computers with improved graphics
Historical development of GIS ~ 8/10
•The 1980s saw further growth and advancement in
computer technologies
•The production of the first microcomputers suing
chips (Intel 80386) in 1986, paved way for the
production of microcomputer-based GIS products
•Increased use of Raster data model and the
development of quad-tree data structure
•Developing of spatial data modelling capability in
GIS software
Historical development of GIS ~9/10
• The 1990s saw the development of general-purpose GIS
software
• Manual digitization process was widespread with the
resulting slow process of data conversion
• Limitation of storage devices in spite of large volumes of
data becoming available- few CR-ROM
• Proliferation of digital data but issues of format, price,
copyright and confidentiality made exchange of data difficult
• Software were mostly DOS-based, non user-friendly
platforms
Historical development of GIS ~10/10
• GIS has become mainstream and routine in the 2000s
• Most GIS systems could handle vector and Raster data with
standardized data exchange possible
• GIS data models were limited to Raster and vector
• Third and fourth dimensions were limited
• Development of analytical functionality
• Improvement in accuracy, miniaturization and affordability of
GPS-equipped devices
• Selective availability was switched off by the US Army in 2000
making the GPS freely accessible
• Recent developments in the GIS world (Discuss: NASA/ESA)
Purpose and benefits of GIS
•Almost everything that happens, happens somewhere
•Largely, we humans are confined in our activities to the
surface and near-surface of the Earth
•Keeping track of activities is important, but and
knowing where it occurs can be basis for tracking
•Knowing where something happens is often critical for
decision making
•Decisions are location-driven
•Therefore geographic location is an important attribute
of activities, policies, strategies, and plans
•Geographic information systems are a special class of
information systems that keep track not only of events,
activities, and things, but also of where these events,
activities, and things happen or exist
•Location is an issue in many of the problems society
must solve
•Some of these are so routine that we almost fail to
notice them
•Others are quite extraordinary occurrences, and require
rapid, concerted, and coordinated responses by a wide
range of individuals and organizations
Thank
you