OPPapers.com

Geographic Information System

“INTRODUCTION”

Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer based information system used to digitally represent and analyze the geographic features present on the Earth's surface and the events (non-spatial attributes linked to the geography under study) that taking place on it. The meaning to represent digitally is to convert analog (smooth line) into a digital form.

"Every object present on the Earth can be geo-referenced", is the fundamental key of associating any database to GIS. Here, term 'database' is a collection of information about things and their relationship to each other, and 'geo-referencing' refers to the location of a layer or coverage in space defined by the co-ordinate referencing system.
The term geo-referencing refers to defining the location, and other required features of any object, place, structure etc. in space defined by the co-ordinate referencing system.

The works on the GIS started in the late 1950’s but the credit of developing the first GIS software ultimately went to ESRI, Canada. The ESRI labs delivered the first GIS software in 1970’s.   Much of the credit of the development of the GIS software could be given to “Mr. Roger Tomilson”.

GIS has revolutionized the way in which the planners, engineers, professional, etc. conduct the database management and the analysis. With the variety of data required by them to solve a definite problem available to them and having the required tools to manage that data, the GIS professionals are in a better stead to solve the real world problems.

                                        “DEFINITION”

Some of the proposed definitions of   a typical GIS are as the following :

    • A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing things that exist and events that happen on Earth
Burrough in 1986 defined GIS as, "Set of tools for collecting, storing, retrieving at will, transforming andì¥Á5@ estions are posed to determine what happens,...