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Part - III

The key word to this technology is Geography - this usually means that the data (or at least some proportion of the data) is spatial, in other words, data that is in some way referenced to locations on the earth. Coupled with this data is usually data known as attribute data. Attribute data generally defined as additional information, which can then be tied to spatial data. An example of this would be a simple car. The actual model of the car is the spatial data. Attributes to these entities such as the car model, model number, year of manufacturing would make up the attribute data. It is the partnership of these two data types that enables GIS to be such an effective problem-solving tool.

The birth of GIS can be attributed to the discovery that maps could be programmed using simple code and then stored in a computer allowing for future modification when necessary Thus at the simplest level, GIS can be thought of as a high-tech equivalent of a map. However, not only can paper maps be produced far quicker and more efficiently, the storage of data in an easily accessible digital format enables complex analysis and modeling not previously possible.

The reach of GIS expands into all disciplines and has been used for such widely ranged problems as prioritizing sensitive species habitat to determining optimal real estate locations for new businesses. The real power in GIS is through using spatial and statistical methods to analyze attribute and geographic information. The end result of the analysis can be derivative information, interpolated information or prioritized information. A GIS makes it possible to link, or integrate, information that is difficult to associate through any other means. Thus, a GIS can use combinations of mapped variables to build and analyze new variables Map information in a GIS must be manipulated so that it registers, or fits, with information gathered from other maps. Before the digital data can be analyzed, they may have to undergo other manipulations - projection conversions, for example - that integrate them into a GIS.

Basic components concerning GIS may be specified as: -

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* Contributed by -
Saurabh Singh,
MBA Global,
IMT Nagpur.