Muhammad Nadeem Akhtar

E Mail: nadeem.akhter@ce.uol.edu.pk
URL: https://sites.google.com/site/ceuolgis/home/gislectures

INTRODUCTION

Zulfiqar Ali Ranjha

MS(CS) from FAST
Phd (CS) from FAST in Progress
Research Area :
Computational

Intelligence and Data Mining by Us

ing Swarm Intelligence

Zulfiqar.ali@cs.uol.edu.pk

https
://sites.google.com/a/cs.uol.edu.pk/geo_inf
ormatics
/
2

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

GEOINFORMATICS
LECTURE # 01 & 02
OUTLINE

Definitions of GIS
GIS Data types
Origins of GIS
Why use GIS?
Applications of GIS
GIS Soft wares

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

WHAT IS GIS

GIS stands for geographic information system, a method

of managing, analyzing, and displaying geographic
information on easily understood, computer-generated
maps.

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

WHAT IS GIS ?

GIS is a technological field that incorporates

geographical features with tabular data in order to
map, analyze, and assess real-world problems.

GIS is a computer system capable of assembling,

storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically
referenced information, i.e. data identified
according to their locations.

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

WHAT IS GIS ?

The strength of GIS is its ability to create

different map layers for different types of
information, and then to combine them in any
way desired or needed.
Each layer consists of geographic, or spatial,
data linked to descriptive, or tabular,
information.
GIS uses known earth coordinates (like latitude
and longitude) to make sure each layer lines up
correctly with the others.

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

HOW IS GIS DIFFERENT ?

Traditional paper maps exist in many different

map scales and projections, making it next to
impossible to superimpose or overlay them the
way GIS can.
GIS can mathematically transform map
features from one scale or projection to
another to allow map layers from different
sources to be used together.

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

WHY IS GIS IMPORTANT TO YOU?

Geographic information is the key to better

decision-making; just about everything a
community, business, or public agency does,
whether in day-to-day operations or long-term
planning, is related to its geography.

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

SOME DEFINITIONS OF GIS

Broad definitions:

geographic information systems are tools that allow for

the processing of spatial data into information, generally
information tied explicitly to, and used to make decisions
about, some portion of the earth. (DeMers, 1997: 7).

A geographic information system is a facility for

preparing, presenting, and interpreting facts that pertain
to the surface of the earth.
(Tomlin, 1990: xi).

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

SOME DEFINITIONS OF GIS

Perspective-oriented definitions (information technology):

A geographic information system (GIS) is an information

system that is designed to work with data referenced by
spatial or geographic coordinates. ...GIS is both a database
system with specific capabilities for spatially-reference
data, as well as a set of operations for working with data.
(Star and Estes, 1990: 2-3).

Perspective-oriented definitions (management):

GIS is an institutional entity, reflecting an organizational

structure that integrates technology with a database, expertise and
continuing financial support over time. (Carter, 1989: 3)

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

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SOME DEFINITIONS OF GIS

Perspective-oriented definitions (decision support):

GIS is a decision support system involving the integration of

spatially referenced data in a problem solving environment.
(Cowen, 1988)

Three role-based views on GIS (Maguire, 1991: 9)

Cartographic view

Database view

Spatial Analysis View

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

11

SOME DEFINITIONS OF GIS

Component-based definitions:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

hardware
software
data
people
organizational/institutional context

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

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SOME DEFINITIONS OF GIS

COMPONENT-BASED DEFINITIONS:

Hardware
computer
monitor
printer
network infrastructure

Software
The GIS application

may be modular

many component pieces for different purposes

i.e. for output, types of analysis, editing, etc.

Different software for different purposes

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

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SOME DEFINITIONS OF GIS

COMPONENT-BASED DEFINITIONS:

Data
spatial

attribute
Metadata

People

application authors
administrators who maintain system
expert users
casual users
consumers of GIS products
management

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

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SOME DEFINITIONS OF GIS

COMPONENT-BASED DEFINITIONS:

Organizational/Institutional Context
mission of organization
organizational atmosphere

encourage innovation
deep-rooted bureaucracy resistant to change

management

hierarchy

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

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SOME DEFINITIONS OF GIS

Definition based on what a GIS does:
The basic functions of a GIS (GIS as toolbox)
1)
2)
3)
4)

Data
Data
Data
Data

input
management (storage/retrieval)
manipulation/analysis
output

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

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SOME DEFINITIONS OF GIS

DEFINITION BASED ON WHAT A GIS DOES:

Data input

1)

getting

the real world into the database

data already in digital format

data in other formats
data transformation

Data management (storage/retrieval)

2)

store data in a particular format

data is organized in a way that facilitates fast and easy retrieval
data can be created, deleted, and edited

Data manipulation/analysis

3)

transform data representations (i.e. interpolation)

determine spatial relationships

extract information from data

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

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SOME DEFINITIONS OF GIS

DEFINITION BASED ON WHAT A GIS DOES:

4) Data output: communication

Maps
Tables
Diagrams
Animations, Etc.

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

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SOME DEFINITIONS OF GIS

Many names for related systems and systems

that overlap with GIS:
spatial

information system (SIS)

geo-information system (GIS)
spatial decision support system (SDSS)
land information system (LIS)
computer aided design (CAD)
computer aided mapping (CAM)
remote sensing (image processing) (RSS)

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

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GIS DATA TYPES

Spatial data
Describes the absolute and relative location of
geographic features.
Attribute data
Describes characteristics of the spatial
features. These characteristics can be
quantitative and/or qualitative in nature.
Attribute data is often referred to as tabular
data.

The integration of these two data sets

is the core issue.
By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

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THE REAL WORLD

our landscape consists of
Hills
Grassland
Lake
Rivers
Forest stands

It can be represented as a series of raster layers and/or

vector layers.
By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

21

RASTER DATA

In the raster data model, land cover is

represented as:

Single square cells

Each cell will have a value corresponding to its land cover type.

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

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RASTER DATA ARE GOOD AT:

Representing continuous data (e.g., slope, elevation,

chemical concentrations)

Representing multiple feature types (e.g., points, lines,

and polygons) as single feature types (cells)

Rapid computations ("map algebra") in which raster layers

are treated as elements in mathematical expressions

Analysis of multi-layer or multivariate data (e.g., satellite

image processing and analysis)

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

23

VECTOR DATA
In the vector data model, features on the earth are
represented as
points
lines /routes
polygons /regions

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

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VECTOR DATA ARE GOOD AT

Accurately representing true shape and size

Representing non-continuous data (e.g.,

rivers, political boundaries, road lines,
mountain peaks)
Creating aesthetically pleasing maps
conserving disk space

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

25

STRUCTURE OF A
RASTER DATA FILE

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

structure of a vector
data file.

26

ATTRIBUTE/ SPATIAL DATA

An attribute is a characteristic of an entity

Usually non-spatial
Though some may be related to the spatial
character of the phenomena under study
Examples: area, perimeter

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

27

DOCUMENTATION

Without it, you have no idea of precision and

accuracy of a dataset

Prepare your own data quality reports for data

you create

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

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ORIGINS OF GIS

1950s in Geography

quantitative revolution, spatial analysis, computer cartography

1960s: individual development efforts

Harvard

early GISs: SYMAP, GRID, ODYSSEY

Canada

Lab for Computer Graphics (and 70s)

GIS

Roger Tomlinson coined the term GIS

1970s: the federal government

USGS

automated mapping of quad maps, available GIS products

US

Census

DIME (1970) and TIGER (1990)

1980s and 1990s: a GIS industry

commercial

vendors

ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute) and Intergraph

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

29

Why use GIS?

Until 1960s geographic information was represented
primarily using paper maps
convenient storage and retrieval
suits a wide variety of purposes
people are familiar with them

Some issues with paper maps

difficult to update/edit
many types of analysis are problematic/complex
e.g. overlay, proximity/closeness analysis
data integration is difficult
large volumes of data

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

30

Why use GIS?

GIS provides
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

data integration and standardization

methods for managing large volumes of data
advanced spatial analysis capabilities
automation of repetitive tasks
sophisticated means of communication: distribution and
output

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

31

Why use GIS?

Data Integration and Standardization
data of different types, origins, scales can be registered to
a common Georeferencing system and integrated for
mapping or analysis
problems: data of different resolutions and accuracies may
be integrated introducing error

Managing large volumes of data

databases are designed for the purpose of managing large
amounts of data
DBs have certain mechanisms that provide the means for
speedy data retrieval and creation, deletion, and update
operations
disk space (memory) is cheap

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

32

Why use GIS?

Spatial analysis
automated basic and advanced spatial analysis functions
some automate traditional map analyses that were
previously cumbersome (e.g. overlay)
other spatial analysis functions have only been made
widely available through GIS (e.g. least cost path)

Automation of repetitive tasks

can create scripts to batch process
customize GIS interface for specific purposes
mapmaking
tabular reporting
common data retrieval
certain type of analysis

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

33

Why use GIS?

Sophisticated means of communication:
Distribution and output
not restricted to maps
diagrams, reports, tables, animation, multi-media
easy and cheap to make multiple copies
easy to distribute data in digital format
available global and local distribution networks: Internet,
intranets, WWW

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

34

Issues with GIS

expensive
beware of $50 answers to $5 dollar questions.

requires expertise to maintain and learning

curve.
specific systems for specific types of
applications.

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

35

Applications of GIS:
Four basic categories:

environmental/natural resource management

urban and regional management
infrastructure management
commercial

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

36

Applications of GIS
environmental/natural resource management:

vegetation, habitat (ecologic)

hydrology
minerals
agriculture: planning and prediction

Urban and regional management:

land use planning

environmental impact
emergency response (fire, police)
crime analysis
maintenance of legal records

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

37

Applications of GIS
infrastructure management

public works
utilities
transportation
(relationship with CAD/CAM)

commercial
market area analysis
site selection
routing

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

38

EXAMPLES OF APPLIED GIS

Urban Planning, Management & Policy

Environmental Sciences

Zoning, subdivision planning

Land acquisition
Economic development
Code enforcement
Housing renovation programs
Emergency response
Crime analysis
Tax assessment
Monitoring environmental risk
Modeling storm water overflow
Management of watersheds, floodplains,
wetlands, forests, aquifers
Environmental Impact Analysis
Hazardous or toxic facility sitting
Groundwater modeling and contamination
tracking

Political Science

Redistricting
Analysis of election results
Predictive modeling

Civil Engineering/Utility

Business

Attendance Area Maintenance

Enrollment Projections
School Bus Routing

Real Estate

Demographic Analysis
Market Penetration/ Share Analysis
Site Selection

Education Administration

Locating underground facilities

Designing alignment for freeways, transit
Coordination of infrastructure
maintenance

Neighborhood land prices

Traffic Impact Analysis
Determination of Highest and Best Use

Health Care

Epidemiology
Needs Analysis
Service Inventory

GIS SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE AND

COMPONENTS
Data Input

Query Input

Output: Display
and Reporting

Geographic
Database

Transformation and
Analysis

KNOWLEDGE BASE FOR GIS

Computer
Science/MIS
graphics
visualization
database
system administration
security

Geography
and related:
cartography
geodesy
photogrammetry
landforms
spatial statistics.

GIS

Application
Area:
public admin.
planning
geology
mineral
exploration
forestry
site selection
marketing
civil
engineering
criminal justice
surveying

The convergence of technological fields and

traditional disciplines.

GIS SOFTWARE

Data creation, management, retrieval,

manipulation, display, analytical, and integration
functions

vary in terms of prices, platforms, functionalities,

reliability, portability, ease of use, technical support

ARC View, Arc GIS, MapInfo, ERDAS Imagine, ILWIS

and many others

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

42

GIS SOFTWARE

ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. ,

in Redlands, California). leads in the GIS field

Pioneers in GIS,

Their flagship product ArcGIS leads in the GIS

software domain

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

43

WHAT IS ARC GIS

ArcGIS is an integrated collection of GIS software products
for building a complete GIS. ArcGIS enables users to deploy GIS
functionality wherever it is needed in desktops, servers,
custom applications; over the Web; or in the field..
Main desktop of ArcGIS includes three major interfaces/components

Arc Catalog: Handling of Files and Folders , Cataloging data, Viewing

data

Arc Map: Digitations' of new features, editing and Manipulation of

features.
loading and execution of Extensions

Arc Toolbox:

Transformation of data, Conversion tools, Data

Analysis Tools and Data Management tools
44
By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

Thanks

By: M.Nadeem Akhtar Lecturer CE, Department UOL Lahore.

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