What is GIS?

A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing
things that exist and events that happen on Earth. GIS technology integrates common database
operations such as query and statistical analysis with the unique visualization and geographic
analysis benefits offered by maps. These abilities distinguish GIS from other information
systems and make it valuable to a wide range of public and private enterprises for explaining
events, predicting outcomes, and planning strategies.

Map making and geographic analysis are not new, but a GIS performs these tasks better and
faster than do the old manual methods. And, before GIS technology, only a few people had the
skills necessary to use geographic information to help with decision making and problem
solving.

The geographical Information system (GIS) consists of two distinct disciplines, namely
geography and Information system.
Geography is the scientific study of (geo) spatial pattern and process. It seeks to identify and
account for the location and distribution of human and physical phenomena on the earth’s
surface. The science which has for its object the description of the earth's surface, treating of its
form and physical features, its natural and political divisions, the climate, productions,
population, etc., of the various countries. It is frequently divided into physical and human
geography
Information is an answer to a specific question. The question generally emerges in the context of
problem solving in connection with management/decision making activities. Simply Information
is regarded as the data which has been processed and transformed into new forms suitable for
specific applications.

In addition, GIS is........

1. The U.S. Geological Survey in 1992 defined Geographic Information System (GIS) as a
computer system (s) capable of assembling, storing, manipulating and displaying
geographically reference information. Such systems, in fact, have power, utility ad
importance far beyond this definition, both within and beyond the field of geography.
 Their most valuable potential capability which sets them apart from computer mapping
systems is the ability to perform spatial analyses to address research and application
questions.
2. GIS is defined as the computer system build to capture, store, manipulate, analyze,
manage and display all kinds of spatial or geographical data.
3. GIS is a powerful set of tools for collecting, storing, retrieving at will, transforming and
displaying spatial data from the real world this definition was given by Burrough in
1987.
4. GIS is a computer assisted system for capture, storage, retrieval, analysis and display of
spatial data, within a particular organization (Clarke, 1986).
5. GIS is an information technology which stores, analyzes and display both spatial and
non-spatial data (Parker, 1988).
6. GIS is defined as a decision support system involving the integration of spatial
referenced data in a problem solving environment (Cowen, 1988)
7. GIS is seen as a system with advanced geo-modeling capabilities (Koshkariov,
Tikunov and Trofimov, 1989).
8. GIS is an organized collection of computer Hardware, Software, Data and Analyst to
effectively capture, store, manipulate, analyze and retrieve all types of spatial and non-
spatial information. It is a geographic information system. Like any information system, a
GIS is an organized accumulation of data and procedures that help people make decisions
about what to do with things.

Generally, GIS is a systematic integration of computer hardware, software, and spatial data, for
capturing, storing, displaying, updating, manipulating, and analyzing, in order to solve
complex management problems.

Major GIS applications

Agriculture: The GIS is used in a variety of agriculture applications such as mapping crop
yields, monitoring crop rotation techniques, and projecting soil loss for individual farms or
entire agriculture regions, etc.
Business: A GIS is a tool for managing any kind of business information according to its
location. We can keep track of where the customers are located, site business, and target
marketing companies; optimize sales territories, and model retail spending patterns. Such an
added advantage is provided by the GIS to enhance in making our company more competitive
and successful.

Electric/gas utilities: The GIS is used on a daily basis by the cities and utilities to help them in
mapping, in inventory systems, track maintenance, monitor regulatory compliance, or model
distribution analysis, transformer analysis, and load analysis.

Environment: The GIS is used every day to help protect the environment. An environmental
professional uses GIS to produce maps, inventory species, measure environmental impact, or
trace pollutants.

Forestry: Nowadays, managing forests is becoming a more complex and demanding challenge.
With GIS, foresters can easily see the forest as an ecosystem and manage it efficiently.

Geology: Geologists use GIS every day in a wide variety of applications. The GIS can also be
used to study geologic features, analyze soils and strata, assess seismic information, or create
3D displays of geographic features.

Hydrology: The GIS is can be used to study drainage systems, asses ground water, and visualize
watersheds, etc.

Land-use planning: People use GIS to help visualize and plan the land-use requirements of
cities, regions, or even regional governments.

Local government: The local government uses GIS every day to solve several problems, for
taxation, and so on.

Mapping: It is an essential function of GIS. People in a variety of professions use GIS to help
others understand geographic data. It is not necessary to be a skilled cartographer to make maps
with a GIS.

Military: Military analysts and cartographers use GIS in variety of applications such as creating
base maps, assessing terrain, and aiding in tactical decisions.
Risk management: A GIS can help with risk management and analysis by showing us which
areas are likely to be prone to natural or manmade disasters. When such forthcoming disasters
are identified, preventive methods can be developed that deal with the different scenarios.

Site planning: People around the world use GIS to help them locate sites for new facilities or
locate alternate sites for existing facilities.

Transportation: A GIS can be used in managing transportation infrastructure or in managing

logistical problems. They can be help us in monitoring rail systems and road conditions or
finding the best way(route) to deliver our goods or services.

Water/Waste water industry: People in the Water/Waste water industry use GIS with the
planning, engineering, operations, maintenance, finance, and administration functions of their
Water/Waste water networks.

Components of GIS:

A working GIS integrates five key components: hardware, software, data, people, and methods.

1. Hardware

Hardware is the computer on which a GIS operates. Today, GIS software runs on a wide range of
hardware types, from centralized computer servers to desktop computers used in stand-alone or
networked configurations.

2. Software

GIS software provides the functions and tools needed to store, analyze, and display geographic
information. Key software components are:

 Tools for the input and manipulation of geographic information

 A database management system (DBMS)

 Tools that support geographic query, analysis, and visualization

 A graphical user interface (GUI) for easy access to tools

 3. Data

Possibly the most important component of a GIS is the data. Geographic data and related tabular
data can be collected in-house or purchased from a commercial data provider. A GIS will
integrate spatial data with other data resources and can even use a DBMS, used by most
organizations to organize and maintain their data, to manage spatial data.

4. People

GIS technology is of limited value without the people who manage the system and develop plans
for applying it to real world problems. GIS users range from technical specialists who design and
maintain the system to those who use it to help them perform their everyday work

5. Methods

A successful GIS operates according to a well-designed plan and business rules, which are the
models and operating practices unique to each organization.

How GIS Works?

A GIS stores information about the world as a collection of thematic layers that can be linked
together by geography. This simple but extremely powerful and versatile concept has proven
invaluable for solving many real-world problems from tracking delivery vehicles, to recording
details of planning applications, to modeling global atmospheric circulation.

Geographic References:

Geographic information contains either an explicit geographic reference such as a latitude and
longitude or national grid coordinate, or an implicit reference such as an address, postal code,
census tract name, forest stand identifier, or road name. An automated process called
geocoding is used to create explicit geographic references (multiple locations) from implicit
references (descriptions such as addresses). These geographic references allow you to locate
features such as a business or forest stand and events such as an earthquake on the Earth's surface
for analysis.

GIS Data – Spatial and Non-Spatial

The database is one of the most important components in GIS and acts as a warehouse or
storeroom as well as providing a backbone of any GIS analysis. It is a collection of data stored in
a structured format. The GIS database may be spatial to resolve the question of Where, non-
spatial for the question of what or temporal for the question When. So, GIS does not hold maps
or pictures but it holds a database that can be displayed in graphical as well as tabular form.
Thus, the GIS database is a representation of our world in the form of maps, not simply pictures,
to resolve these questions. Data are defined by location in space with reference to a coordinate
system and by non-spatial attributes in a particular time. A map is usually represented in two or
three dimensions, according to user requirements and the nature of the database. A particular
spatial feature can be thought of as a layer of data about an area. The map legend is the key,
linking the non-spatial attributes with spatial entities. It may include visual aids such as col- ours,
symbols or shades. All the functionalities of the GIS, such as multiple users, concurrent use, data
integrity, query facilities, data extraction, data manipulation, modeling and visualization depend
on the type of database it holds.

Types of GIS Database

The database plays a major role in providing input in the GIS environment. The analysis and
results totally depend upon these databases. In a real-world system, all the components and fea-
tures of the Earth are integrated by a cause-and- effect relationship; for example, wheat crops
require particular climate zones, seasonal patterns, elevations, soils with appropriate levels of
water and micro-nutrients among many other similar criteria for particular customers. But in the
GIS environment, we segregate them as different themes or features or as a layer for the
generation of an individual database. In other words, the real features of the Earth are stored as
different layers according to different features. Theo- retically, layers are individual parts or
slices or strata of a real-world system which is separately represented in the legend in a map with
different symbology; for example, political boundaries, road networks, land use, soil type,
climate, water bodies etc. can be considered as different layers in the GIS environment. These
layers may be in the form of vector or raster data formats. Basically, two types of database are
used in a GIS environment: one is a spatial database and the other is non-spatial. The spatial
database can have a vector data structure or raster data structure.
Spatial Database

All geographical or spatial features of the world can be represented and stored in the form of a
map. This is basically a set of points, lines and polygons (area). These features correspond to a
uniquely defined location on the Earth’s surface. Spatial data have also been described as ‘any
data concerning phenomena spatially distributed’ in two or more dimensions. These spatial
features are digitally stored in vector and raster data structures.

Vector and Raster Models:

Geographic information systems work with two fundamentally different types of geographic
models--the "vector model" and the "raster model. In the vector model, information about points,
lines, and polygons is encoded and stored as a collection of x, y coordinates. The location of a
point feature, such as a bore hole, can be described by a single x, y coordinate. Linear features,
such as roads and rivers, can be stored as a collection of point coordinates. Polygonal features,
such as sales territories and river catchments, can be stored as a closed loop of coordinates. The
vector model is extremely useful for describing discrete features, but less useful for describing
continuously varying features such as soil type or accessibility costs for hospitals.
The raster model has evolved to model such continuous features. A raster image comprises a
collection of grid cells rather like a scanned map or picture. Both the vector and raster models for
storing geographic data have unique advantages and disadvantages. Modern GISs are able to
handle both models.

Non-spatial Database

The non-spatial database represents the charac- teristics, also called attribute data or information,
of the spatial database. It describes regions and defines the characteristics of spatial features
within geographic regions. The non-spatial data are usually alpha-numeric and provide
information such as the colour, texture, quantity, quality and value of features. For example, a
map of Delhi with its ‘attributes’ data describes Delhi’s characteristics such as elevation, land
use, populations, boundary information etc.

This information is usually kept in tabular form consisting of rows and columns, managed as a
normal database. Each row represents a feature of a map, and a column represents the desired
characteristics of a particular row. Changes to any feature on that map, for example an urban
boundary, can be generated by the attribute data. A separate data model is used to store and
maintain non-spatial or attribute (additional information) data for GIS. These data models may
exist internally within the GIS software, or may be reflected externally through database
management systems (DBMS). A variety of different data models exists. The most common non-
spatial database structures are hierarchical, network and relational.
GEOGRAPHIC COORDINATE SYSTEMS

A geographic coordinate system (GCS) uses an ellipsoidal surface to define locations on the
Earth. There are three parts to a geographic coordinate system:

 A datum - an ellipsoidal (spheroid) model of the Earth to use. Common datums include
WGS84 (used in GPS).

 A prime meridian

 Angular unit of measure

 Horizontal datum - used for describing a point on the Earth's surface, in latitude and
longitude or another coordinate system.

 Vertical datum - measure elevations or depths.

HORIZONTAL DATUM I

• The geoid is defined as the surface of the earth's gravity field, which is approximately the
same as mean sea level. It is perpendicular to the direction of gravity pull. Since the mass of the
earth is not uniform at all points, and the direction of gravity changes, the shape of the geoid is
irregular.

• To simplify the model, various spheroids or ellipsoids have been developed.