ABSTRACT
Archeological evidences have unearthed the fact that the history of map making existed since ages. Humans have broadened their understanding over the years, about size, shape, and processes associated with earth, which in turn contributed in making sophisticated and accurate representation of the globe and its phenomena. Advancements in space technology, digital information, and communication technologies have stimulated the growth of earth-oriented information science/system, in short the
CONTENTS
1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 1.2 Blossoming of Geoinformatics ................................................................ 2 1.3 Elements of a GIS ...................................................................................... 3 1.4 Geographic Phenomena, Types, and Its Representation ..................... 3
1.4.1 Spatial Data Structure .................................................................. 5 1.4.2 Spatial Layers or Geodatabase .................................................... 7 1.4.3 Planimetric Requirements ........................................................... 7 1.4.4 Errors and Data Quality in GIS ................................................ 11
1.5 Spatial Analysis ....................................................................................... 11 1.5.1 Geostatistics ................................................................................. 12 1.5.2 Spatial Decision Support System .............................................. 13
1.6 Recent Trends and Future Challenges in GIS ..................................... 14 1.6.1 2D GIS to 3D GIS ......................................................................... 15 1.6.2 2D, 3D GIS to 4D GIS .................................................................. 15 1.6.3 Crisp Data to Fuzzy Data .......................................................... 16 1.6.4 Closed to Open Environment ................................................... 16
1.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 17 References .......................................................................................................... 19
development of geographical information system (GIS), which helps in representing and modeling earth’s phenomena in an ef‰cient way. Many new terminologies and terms, like geoinformatics, geomatics, geospatial systems, remote sensing (RS), GIS, etc., are often used when one deals with GIS. It has been generally felt that the term “GIS” restricts one to the idea of computer hardware and software, but the term “geoinformatics” was well received as it conveys and covers a broader meaning. There are many de‰nitions coined for the term “geoinformatics.” A simple way to understand this terminology would be to divide it as geo + informaticsthe usage of information technology for geographic analysis. This chapter considers a de‰nition on geoinformatics as “an integrated science and technology that deals with acquisition and manipulation of geographical data, transforming it into useful information using geoscienti‰c, analytical, and visualization techniques for making better decisions.” In this chapter, the term GIS is assumed to represent geoinformatics and vice versa. This chapter begins with a brie‰ng on historical background about GIS; explains basic terminologies, concepts, and spatial database organization; gives a glimpse of the variety of spatial analytical functions and applications; and, ‰nally, leads to a spectrum of issues, trends, and challenges in the geoinformatics domain.
