GIS…what’s that?

Some of you who are new to the world of GIS maybe wondering what it is. GIS is an acronym for Geographic Information System or Geospatial Information System.  This system is used to store, analyze, visualize, and manage data that is spatially referenced (spatially referenced means attaching information to a physical location).

You may not realize it, but you have probably used GIS in some sort of fashion already.  For example, we all have used online maps such as MapQuest, GoogleMaps, YahooMaps, and Live Search Maps for directions.  This is GIS in a simple online user application.  However, what we see with these maps are more than just a visual representation of how to get from point A to point B.  Each item that we see can contain even more information hidden beneath the symbol.  You notice that roads and location have a label attached to them, well this data is located in a hidden attribute table that is attached to the symbol.  Both the symbol (location) and the attribute data are located in a GIS.  Some other information behind these directional maps includes: street segment length, speed limit,  and address ranges.  All of that information helps create the final direction map that you requested.

A GIS can do more than just create directional maps based on a user’s input.  It also organizes and analyzes data in an amazing way.  This data is usually stored in some type of database (I’ll discuss the database a little more in-depth in another post).  There can be relationships within the data that develop a mind blowing matrix.  With the way the data is organized, you can query (either by the attribute table or by the spatial location) and manipulate it to create amazing visualizations and reports.

Although some of the terms and processes mentioned may not make sense right now, they will soon sink in as you gain some handson experience.