Geographic Information Systems

IDRISI

ILWIS

ARC/
INFO

PEOPLE
GIS SOFTWARE

POLICY AND
PROCEDURES
FOR
RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

HARDWARE DATA
 GIS
A computer-based
system capable of Hydrology
holding and using Landuse
data describing places
on the earth’s surface
Districts
Topography
Soils

The real world

consists of many
geographies which
can be represented as
a number of related
data layers.

GIS IS SUPPORTING TOOL FOR DECISION MAKERS

 Bett er Data

Better I nf orm ati on

Bett er D eci sions

Bet ter Outcome

GIS is of ten ref er red as “ Enabl ing Technol ogy”

Handl ing Geogr aph ic Inf ormation

Patan

R
• eal-world

Sand and
Factory
Abstract
•
Gravel
Solid Waste
representation
Sandstone
Water Table
Aquifer
Spreadsheets
•
Shale Gravel
• Base Management Systems
Data
•Computer Aided Design (CAD)
Geographic
• features
Cartographic
• Packages
•
Photogrammetrical Software
Image
• Processing Software
 Maps and Spatial Data

TOPOGRAP HI C

ZONAL

ISOLI NE

RE AL-WORLD
 GIS Definition

hardware assembling
software managing
data analyzing
user displaying

components versus functionality

 GIS and GIS Application
• Don‘t mix it:
– The software package (the product)
– The application(s)

You can apply the same software for

many different applications (and of
course use different software for the
same application!)
 GIS Applications

agriculture
environment
geo-sciences
forestry
emergency services
utilities
navigation
real estate
regional/local/rural/urban planning
tourism
...
 Components of GIS

GIS ABSTRACTION
OR
SIMPLIFICATION

USERS
SOFTWARE
TOOLS + DATABASE

THE REAL WORLD

RESULTS
Components of G IS
Several components are involved in GIS technology.

Hardware

A computer and the associated peripherals are essential for handling spatial data
in GIS. These devices are collectively known as hardware.

Software

Software refers to the programmes that run on computers; these include

programmes to manage the computer and to perform specific functions. For
example, Excel, MS word, and ARC/INFO, ArcView, ArcGIS are specialised
software programmes designed to perform certain tasks.
Database

A central theme to GIS is the database. A GIS database deals with spatial data.
GIS facilitate integration of spatial and attribute data and this makes GIS unique
in contrast to other database systems. The beauty of GIS technology lies in the
ability to assimilate disparate sources of data and analyse them.

Human Input

People who work with GIS form the most important component. GIS constitute
truly a interdisciplinary field and require varied backgrounds of expertise,
depending upon the applications. In addition, for technical management, a
Hardware Specialist, System Administrator, and Database Manager are required
for a corporate GIS set-up.

Policy and Procedures

A methodology is a must to derive the results users need. Basically, this includes
spatial analysis for the particular application. By and large, this depends upon the
institutional framework and its interest in exploiting GIS technology for decision-
making
GIS user and Their Relationships
 Life time of the components
 

H hard- computer, periphery ~ 4 years

ware (digitizer, scanner, plotter)
S soft- programs, methods ~ 7 years
ware
D data data, rules, knowledge ~ 25 years

U user
The cost Pyramide

Hardware 5%

Software,
maintenance, training
15%

Data 80%
 GIS products
product company URL data price discription
(commercial)
ArcGIS 9.x ESRI www. esri.com vecto universal,
r professional
raster GIS-family

ESRI www. esri.com vector 1500 € desktop GIS

ArcView 3.x
Raster
GeoMedia Intergraph www.intergraph. vecto 2000.-$ universal,
com/gis GeoMedia professional
r
10000.-$ GIS-family
raster GeoMedia Pro

AutoCAD Autodesk www.autodesk. vecto ? CAD-GIS

com
Map r
raster
MapInfo MapInfo mapinfo.com vecto 1500.-$ desktop GIS
r
raster
EASI/PACE PCI www.pcigeomat vector ? r s, photogr
ics.com
SPANS geomatics raster

ERDAS Erdas www.erdas.com vector ? r s, photogr

IMAGINE raster
product company URL data price discription
(commercial)

IDRISI Idrisi www. vecto 1500.-$ r s, photogr

idrisi.com
r
raster
MicroStation Bentley www.bentley vector ? CAD GIS,
.com network
GeoGraphics raster

SICAD SICAD www.sicad.c vector 1500.-$ universal,

om SICAD/SD professional
geomatics raster
>40000.-$ GIS
SICAD/open

Smallworld GE www.ge- vecto >40000.-$ universal,

smallworld.c professional
Smallworld om r
raster GIS
star next star www.star.be vector ? desktop GIS
informatic raster

GRASS vector 0€ Open

raster source
 Geomatics is a world leading developer of geomatics
software and solutions based on its remote sensing,
digital photogrammetry, spatial analysis, and
cartographic editing programs. PCI Geomatics is
committed to supplying leading edge software, customer support and
service worldwide.
Geomatica Software Solutions:  unites separate technologies for remote 
sensing image processing, GIS, and digital cartography into a single 
modular environment

Remote Sensing: Spatial Analysis Systems: Cartography:

EASI/PACE®
eCognition ILWIS
RADARSOFT®
SPANS® ACE®
Digital Photogrammetry: Image Interpretation:
OrthoEngine® PAMAP GISTM
ImageWorks®
APEX
• GeoMedia
• GeoMedia Pro
•GeoMedia WebMap
•GeoMedia WebMap Enterprise
9.x