Basic Concepts of GIS

Chapter 1: Some Concepts That Underpin GIS

• You Ask: “What Is GIS About?”
• And So You Ask Again: “What Is GIS About?”
• More of What GIS Is About
• Next Steps: Seemingly Independent Things You Need to Know
• Determining Where Something Is: Coordinate Systems
• Determining Where Something Is: Latitude and Longitude
• Geodesy, Coordinate Systems, Geographic Projections, and Scale
• Projected Coordinate Systems
• Geographic vs. Projected Coordinates: A Comparison
• Two Projected Coordinate Systems: UTM and State Plane
• Physical Dimensionality
• Global Positioning Systems
• Remote Sensing
• Relational Databases
• Searching (and Indexing) in General
• Another Definition of GIS
• Computer Software: In General

Chapter 2: Characteristics and Examples of Spatial Data

• The Original Form of Spatial Data: Maps
• Moving Spatial Data from Maps to Computers: Forces for Change
• Spatial Data
• Limiting the Scope
• Spatial Data for Decision Making
• Sets of Spatial Data: The Database
• Spatial Databases: Inherent Difficulties
• Information Systems
• Uses for a Geographic Information System

Chapter 3: Products of a GIS: Maps and Other Information

• GIS and Cartography—Compatibility?
• Products of a Geographic Information System
• Overall Requirements for Utility
• Classification of GIS Products
• Documenting Products
• Thoughts on Different Types of Products
• Don’t Ignore Character-Based Information
• Don’t Hesitate to Sort Information
• Consider Hard Copy
• Consider Balance in Product Content
• Elements of Product Design
• Units, Projection, and Scale
• Thoughts on Resolution and Scale
• Making Sure There Is a Base Map
• Measure of Quality Assurance
• The Decision Maker–Product Interface
• In Summary

Chapter 4: Structures for Storing Geographic Data

• Why Is Spatial Data Analysis So Hard?
• How the Computer Aids Analyzing Spatial Data
• Complexity of Spatial Data
• Structures for Spatial Data
• Storage Paradigms for Areal Data
• Fundamental Bases of Geographic Data Mode
• The Raster Data Model
• Vector Data Model
• A Multiplicity of “Storadigms”
• Vector-Based Geographic Datasets—Logical Construction
• Zero-Dimensional Entities in a Two-Dimensional Field: Points
• One-Dimensional Entities in a Two-Dimensional Field: Lines
• Two-Dimensional Entities in a Two-Dimensional Field: Polygons
• Three-Dimensional Entities in a Three-Dimensional Field: Triangles and Multipatches
• Specific Esri Spatial Vector Data Storage Mechanisms
• The Geodatabase Data Structure
• Geodatabase Software
• Polygons within Polygons—Perimeter and Area Calculations
• Geodatabases—Layout in the Computer
• Geodatabases—Logical Construction
• Geodatabases—Feature Shape
• Nested Polygons in Geodatabases
• Geodatabases and Attributes
• Objects—First Acquaintance
• The Shapefile Data Structure
• Shapefiles—Layout in the Computer
• Summarizing Vector Dataset Features
• Summary of Logical Structures of Vector-Based GIS Datasets
• Raster-Based Geographic Data Sets—Logical Construction
• Raster-Based Geographic Data Sets—Layout in the Computer
• TINs
• TIN-Based Geographic Data Sets—Layout in the Computer
• Spatial Reference

Chapter 5: Geographic and Attribute Data: Selection, Input, and Editing

• Concerns about Finding and Collecting Data
• Looking for Data on the Internet
• Steps in Developing the Database
• GPS and GIS
• Anatomy of the Acronym: GPS
• What Time Is It?