Definition of GIS :
Geographic Information System can be regarded as a special form of Information System that provides the required information by processing and analyzing geographic data.
A Geographical Information System (GIS) is a system for capturing, storing, analyzing and managing data and associated attributes, which are spatially referenced to the Earth. The geographical information system is also called as a geographic information system or geospatial information system. It is an information system capable of integrating, storing, editing, analyzing, sharing, and displaying geographically referenced information. In a more generic sense, GIS is a software tool that allows users to create interactive queries, analyze the spatial information, edit data, maps, and present the results of all these operations. GIS technology is becoming essential tool to combine various maps and remote sensing information to generate various models, which are used in real time environment. Geographical information system is the science utilizing the geographic concepts, applications and systems.
There is no clear-cut definition for GIS. Different people defined GIS according to capability and purpose for which it is applied. Few of the definitions are:
- “A computer - assisted system for the capture, storage retrieval, analysis and display of spatial data, within a particular Organization" (Clarke, 1986).
- “A powerful set of tools for collecting, storing, retrieving at will, transforming and displaying spatial data from the real world" (Burrough, 1987).
- A GIS is a computer-based system that provides the following four sets of capabilities to handle geo-referenced data, i.e. input, data management (data storage and retrieval),manipulation and analysis, and Output.(Aronoff, 1989):
- “An internally referenced, automated, spatial information system" (Berry, 1986).
- “A system for capturing, storing, checking, manipulating, analyzing and displaying data which are spatially referenced to the Earth” (DOE, 1987:132)
- “An institutional entity, reflecting an organizational structure that integrates technology with a database, expertise and continuing financial support over time”(Carter, 1989:3)
- “An information technology which stores, analyses and display both spatial and non – spatial data”(Parker,1988:1547)
- “A special case of information systems where the database consists of observations on spatially distributed features, activities, or events, which are definable in space as points, lines or areas. A GIS manipulates data about these points, lines and areas to retrieve data for ad hoc queries and analyses”(Dueker,1979:106)
- “A database system in which most of the data are spatially indexed, and upon which a set of procedures operated in order to answer queries about spatial entities in the database”(Smith,1987:13)
- “An automated set of functions that provides professionals with advanced capabilities for the storage, retrieval, manipulation and display of geographically located data”(Ozemoy, Smith and Sicherman, 1981:92)
- “A decision support system involving the integration of spatially referenced data in a problem solving environment”(Cowen, 1988:1554)
- “A system with advanced geo – modeling capabilities”(Koshkariov, Tikunov and Trofimov, 1989:259)
- “A form of MIS (Management Information System) that allows map display of the general information”(Devine and Field, 1986:18)
Literal Definition :
- Geographic relates to the surface of the earth.
- Information is a knowledge derived from study, experience, or instruction.
- System is a group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole.
- Science is the observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena.
Functional Definition :
GIS is a system for inputting, storing, manipulating, analyzing, and reporting data.
Component Definition :
INFORMATION SYSTEM:
An Information System consists of five basic resources, namely:
1. People, which consists of IT specialists (such as a Database Administrator or Network Engineer) and end-users (such as Data Capture Clerks).
2. Hardware, which consists of all the physical aspects of an information system, ranging from peripherals to computer parts and servers.
3. Software, which consists of System Software, Application Software and Utility Software.
4. Data, which consists of all the knowledge and databases in the IS.
5. Networks, which consists of communication media and network support.
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM:
By the very definition, an information system could deal with any kind of information. GIS differs from an information system in general, or can be treated as a special case of Information system in that it deals with just geographic or geo-spatial or spatial information. Information could be positional but not geographic. For example an organ in a human body has its fixed position, but this information is not geographic information. There it cannot be described with GIS. Similar is an example of a library information system which deals with various types of information about books and other documents, but as the information dealt with is not geographic it is not appropriate to describe as geographic information. Only the phenomena that deal with geography can be studied with the help of GIS.There are many information systems that deal with geographic information and still are not called as GIS. This is only because of different nomenclature used, a difference of some is explained in the following section.
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