Pfeil Introduction in Geoinformation


Pfeil Definition: A broadly accepted definition of GIS is the one provided by the National Centre of Geographic Information and Analysis:
A GIS is a system of hardware, software and procedures to facilitate the management, manipulation, analysis, modelling, representation and display of georeferenced data to solve complex problems regarding planning and management of resources.(NCGIA, 1990)
Pfeil Other Definitions: A typical GIS can be understood by the help of various definitions given below:
  • 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 and displaying spatial data from the real world for a particular set of purposes"
  • Arnoff in 1989 defines GIS as, "a computer based system that provides four sets of capabilities to handle geo-referenced data :
  • data input
  • data management (data storage and retrieval)
  • manipulation and analysis
  • data output. "
Pfeil Samples: Sampleimage #1 | Sampleimage #2 | Sampleimage #3 | Sampleimage #4
Pfeil Short Info: Geoinformation is an abbreviation of geographic information. Geographic information is created by manipulating geographic (or spatial) data (generally known by the abbreviation geodata) in a computerized system. Systems can include computers and networks, standards and protocols for data use and exchange between users within a range of different applications. Typical applications are land registration, hydrology, cadastral, land evaluation, planning or environmental observation. Geodata comes in many different forms, such as maps or images taken from the air or from space, i.e., remote sensing data. Geodata may be stored in a database, which may possibly have special extensions for storing, handling, and manipulating spatial data. Geoinformation is the useful output, produced by analyzing data with a kind of computer program called a "geographic information system", or GIS. The environment in which a GIS operates (machines, people, networks) is called a "spatial information system", and is designed and created to respond to the strategic spatial information needs of people or organizations.
Pfeil GIS Song

Pfeil What do you know about geospatial data?
Pfeil Survey An Institute asked people on the street, if they had ever heard before something about "geospatial data" or "geographic data" or "geoinformation" and what they think, who needs things like that. Two of three had no idea.
The film is in german.

Pfeil Relevant Links
Pfeil Research: Carinthian University of Applied Sciences, Department of Geoinformation and Spatial Decision Support Systems flag
Institute for Geoinformation, TU Graz flag
University Consortium for Geographic Information Science flag
NCGIA, University of Claifornia flag
Pfeil Industry: Environmental Systems Research Institute, ESRI flag
Intergraph flag
Autodesk Geospatial flag