GIS has many applications and components. It integrates hardware, software, data, people, and procedures to analyze and visualize spatial information. GIS allows users to visualize, question, analyze, and interpret data to understand relationships and patterns regarding locations. It has applications in land use planning, utilities management, transportation planning, market analysis, and more. The key components of a GIS are hardware, software, data, people, procedures, and networks.

1. Introduction to
Geographic
Information System

2. •Every decision that we take today is largely driven
by location and has spatial connotation directly or
indirectly. GIS has come a long way from digital
mapping to decision making, invoking simulations,
creating networks, evolving models based on big
geo- data analytics and all gearing for real time
decision making with prediction capability.

3. Definition
•“A Computer based System that provides four sets of
capabilities to handle georeferenced data: data input;
data management; manipulation & analysis; and data
output” by Arnoff (1989). Parker (1988) defining it as “An
information technology which stores, analyses, and
displays both spatial and non-spatial data”.

4. D e f i n i t i o n C o n t d ’
• ESRI (2017) explains the capability of “Geographic information System (GIS) as a system
that let us visualize, question, analyse and interpret data to understand relationships,
patterns and trends”
• GIS brings together the ideas developed in various fields such as Geography, Computer
Science, Mathematics, Civil Engineering, Surveying, Economics, Town planner and
Agriculture to name a few. Some related names of GIS with similar characteristics are:
“Multipurpose geographical data system”; “Computerized GIS”; “Image-based information
system”; “Land resource information system”; “Natural resource management information
system”; “Spatial data handling system”; “Spatial information system”; “Environmental
information system”; “Automated GIS and Knowledge based GIS”.

5. Functions of GIS
Functions of GIS include:
•Data entry,
•Data display,
•Data management,
•Information retrieval and analysis.

6. GIS Adoption
The usefulness of GIS is driven today by many pull and push factors and the
rapid changes taking place around natural ecosystem.
• To meet the ever-increasing demand created by huge population on
infrastructure development, rural and urban planning, safe neighborhoods,
multiple transportation facilities, disaster readiness of the community,
conservation of nature require a holistic approach with careful
understanding of space, created geography and/or varied dimensions of
geographical aspect of the earth.

7. GIS Adoption Contd’
• Availability of multiple datasets collected from ground platform, aerial
platform and space platform have given a new meaning and
understanding of the existing locations.
• Use of GIS capturing various layers of these data sets have definitely
added value to the usefulness of the decisions taken by the respective
experts of the varied fields.

8. Answers GIS can Give?
• Geographic information System (GIS) as a system answers through
visualization and data analytics. It help us to understand spatial
relationships, different patterns and changing trends. GIS
therefore answers questions related to Location –‘What is at … ?’;
Condition Where is it … ? ; What type is it …?;Trends: What has
changed since ...? Patterns: What spatial Patterns exist? and
questions related to Modelling-What if …?

9. Brief History Major events that shaped GIS
• 1957 Application First known automated mapping produced by Swedish meteorologists and British biologists
• 1963 Technology CGIS development-initiated Canada Geographic Information System is developed by Roger Tomlinson
and colleagues for Canadian Land Inventory. This project pioneers much technology and introduces the term GIS.
• 1963 General URISA established The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association founded in the US. Soon
becomes point of interchange for GIS innovators.
• 1967 Academic and general UK Experimental Cartography Unit (ECU) formed Pioneered in a range of computer
cartography and GIS areas.
• 1969 Commercial ESRI Inc. formed Jack Dangermond, a student from the Harvard Lab, and his wife Laura form ESRI
to undertake projects in GIS.
• 1969 Commercial Intergraph Corp. formed Jim Meadlock and four others that worked on guidance systems for Saturn
rockets form M&S Computing, later renamed Intergraph.
• 1969 Academic ‘Design With Nature’ published Ian McHarg’s book was the first to describe many of the concepts in
modern GIS analysis, including the map overlay process.
• 1969 Academic First technical GIS textbook Nordbeck and Rystedt’s book detailed algorithms and software they
developed for spatial analysis.

10. Brief History Major events that shaped GIS Contd’
• 1981 ArcInfo was the first major commercial GIS software system launched. Designed for minicomputers and based
on the vector and relational database data model, it set a new standard for the industry.
• 1984 Academic ‘Basic Readings in Geographic Information Systems’ published. This collection of papers published
in book form by Duane Marble, Hugh Calkins, and Donna Peuquet was the first accessible source of information about
GIS.
• 1986 Commercial MapInfo Corp. formed MapInfo software develops into first major desktop GIS product. It
defined a new standard for GIS products, complementing earlier software systems.
• 1987 Academic International Journal of Geographical Information Systems, now IJGI Science, introduced Terry
Coppock and others published the first journal on GIS. The first issue contained papers from the USA, Canada,
Germany, and UK.
• 1994 General Executive Order signed by President Clinton Executive Order 12906 leads to creation of US National
Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), clearing houses, and Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC).
• 1994 General OpenGIS Consortium born. The OpenGIS Consortium of GIS vendors, government agencies, and
users is formed to improve interoperability.
• 1995 General First complete national mapping coverage Great Britain’s Ordnance Survey completes creation of its
initial database – all 230 000 maps covering country at largest scale (1:1250, 1:2500 and 1:10 000) encoded.
• 1996 Technology Internet GIS products introduced Several companies, notably Autodesk, ESRI, Intergraph, and
MapInfo, release new generation of Internet-based products at about the same time.

11. Components of GIS

12. There are six components of GIS and each one is incomplete without the other. These
include: Hardware, Software, Network, Data, People and Procedures.
• Computer Hardware Module: Hardware components include all these tools
devices and accessories that can be set-up on the desk, lap or in the palm. A range
of latest products includes handheld GIS compatible GPS, a variety of high-end
scanners, storage devices and printers that make the GIS operations worthy of it.
Now GIS functions are carried out in PDAs (handheld computers, palmtops), in-
vehicle devices and even in mobile phones.

13. Components of GIS Contd’
• Computer Software Modules: GIS software helps to store, analyze
and display geographic information in the form of maps and reports. It
provides the Graphic User Interface (GUI) for easy display and access
to tools for input, visualizing, processing, editing, analyzing and
querying geographic data. Data is accessed and managed through Data
Management System (DBMS). Example of GIS software is ArcGis,
QGIS, SAGA GIS etc.

14. Components of GIS Contd’
• Data: The third component of GIS is data. Data forms the major component. With
recent developments in remote sensing and GPS technologies, large volume of
high resolution data is widely available at affordable cost. This is also one of the
reasons for the increased awareness and development of GIS. To store and
maintain large volumes of data the use of database management systems is
required. Till recently, relational data base management (RDBMS) was widely
used in GIS packages RDBMS was not exclusively created to handle spatial data.
As a result, object oriented data base is increasingly used in recent years for its
ability to handle spatial data more efficiently.

15. Components of GIS Contd’
• People and Procedure:
GIS is of no use if people
and the organizations in
which they work are not
properly oriented towards
GIS. In many organizations,
GIS is not optimally used in
spite of costly hardware and
sophisticated software
packages are available since
the organizational aspects
are not properly looked into.
Longley (2001) define it as
“An organization must
establish procedures, lines
of reporting, control points
and other mechanisms for
ensuring that its GIS
activities stay within
budgets, maintain high
quality and generally meet
the needs of the
organization,” The people
working in an organization
are also important. They
possess various skills to
handle geographic data.
They design, programme
and maintain GIS. They
also supply data, do suitable
analysis and interpret them.

16. Components of GIS Contd’
• Network: Earlier information generated in GIS is
communicated among a handful of people sitting around a
monitor. Today, a sheer volume of digital information shared
among people who are located across the world. Internet plays a
vital role to exchange and establish connection between them.
Internet is not only used for personal exchange of information
but also for the exchange of corporate data.

17. Application
Geographic information systems
are now used for:
 land use planning,
utilities management,
ecosystems modelling,
landscape assessment and planning,
transportation and infrastructure
planning,
 market analysis,
visual impact analysis,
facilities management,
tax assessment,
real estate analysis and
many other applications.

18. Application
Mapping locations: GIS can be used to
map locations. It allows the creation of
maps through automated mapping, data
capture, and surveying analysis tools.
Mapping quantities: People map
quantities, like where the most and least
are, to find places that meet their criteria
and take action, or to see the relationships
between places. This gives an additional
level of information beyond simply
mapping the locations of features.
Mapping densities: While you can see
concentrations by simply mapping the
locations of features, in areas with many
features it may be difficult to see which
areas have a higher concentration than
others. A density map lets you measure the
number of features using a uniform areal
unit, such as acres or square miles, so you
can clearly see the distribution.

19. Application
Finding distances: GIS can be used to find out what's occurring
within a set distance of a feature.
Mapping and monitoring change: GIS can be used to map the
change in an area to anticipate future conditions, decide on a course of
action, or to evaluate the results of an action or policy.