Term Paper on Internet Based Geographical Information
Systems
(First
3 Pages)
A Geographical Information System (GIS) can be described as a computer system
that is capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying
geographically referenced information, i.e. data identified according to their
locations. The concept of GIS is a largely technical issue which involves the
modern combination so Internet and technology. World has become literarily
globalized and has come to the computer screen where one can roam around easily.
GIS is also seen as providing a gateway to science and problem-solving
technique.
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INTRODUCTION
A simple description of Geographical Information System (GIS) is that it shows
information on a map. But this is just the beginning of a vast array of
functions and works performed by GIS. In the past, if you wanted to create a
specialized map you had to scan or draw the map, then manually place the
symbols. You would need to redo the symbols every time the information changed.
GIS automates the process for you. A GIS can also convert existing digital
information, which may not yet be in map form, into forms it can recognize and
use. For example, digital satellite images can be analyzed to produce a map like
layer of digital information about vegetative covers. Likewise, census or
hydrologic tabular data can be converted to map-like form, serving as layers of
thematic information in a GIS.
Maps can now also show the multiple levels of details with the help of GIS. You
can show streets only, or add lakes and streams. You might wish to show city or
county boundaries. You can even give your viewer/customer the choice of how much
detail they want. This has greatly enhanced the information gathering abilities
of the user. These are also accompanied with the search options whereby you type
the name of the city or place and the computer would show the map in an instant
which you can further process and edit and use in your own works. You can visit
far more than just the new locations and just by clicking on the symbols can
display photos, addresses, names or other information. Shilpam Pandy discusses
that Internet over the past decade has opened up exciting new ways to supply
data, tools, models and other information to potential users in the shape of
GIS.
There are many usages of a GIS. For example, a store or restaurant chain could
use GIS to help customers find a local store and see its hours and other
necessary details. People can use GIS systems in their cars while on the road.
They can view where do the stand and the map can guide them to their desired
destinations through the computer window shown on their car’s window panel. This
system can also be used by the county government to show the locations of
emergency storm shelters or county offices to people so that they may seek
shelter in time. Similarly, a realtor could have all its listings mapped along
with local schools and shops. And by clicking on a listing would display a photo
or photos of the house along with the usual listing information.
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Therefore, to sum up the description of a GIS, it is a system that manages,
analyzes, and displays data with an explicit geographical component. It is based
on a spatial database containing location data and a more or less integrated
attribute database describing the application data. The growth of data
interchange formats has led to an increase in both the availability of data and
the facility with which that data can be input into GIS systems. Data
interchange formats are now available for thematic coverages as well as base
topographic information. Recent initiatives (AGS 1992) have meant that a digital
data interchange format is now available and being widely utilized for the
transfer of geotechnical data from ground investigations.
APPROACH OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS)
There are many approaches to the utilization of a Geographical Information
System. The basic operations of GIS provide secure and established foundations
for analysis, although the technology is still evolving rapidly. The rapidly
evolving better technologies will remain a necessary condition for the
achievement of cheaper, faster GIS and better interoperability in the future but
it is far from a sufficient condition for successful application of such
systems. Basically, GIS is an applications-led technology. Effective use of GIS
is impossible if they are simply seen as black boxes producing magic over the
geographic locations. Understanding the imprecision and uncertainty of our
representations of the world, and the consequences of our operations on them, is
essential for everything except the most trivial use of GIS. This is so because
essentially they are themselves dependent on the provision of actual data.
Empirical analysis of the real world can be a messy and analytically
inconvenient business and so the science of real-world application is the
difficult kind that can rarely refer to apparently universal truths, such as the
laws of gravity. Any provision of geographic information in the database of such
a system is central to the practicality of GIS. Mostly this information is taken
from the secondary sources because their generation is very expensive as well as
their editing or updating. Such a non-availability underpins the rapid growth of
trading in geographic information or commonly known as the g-commerce. GIS
provides possibilities and opportunities not only for local business but also
for entering new markets or for forging new relationships with other
organizations around the globe. The value of GIS relies upon it’s the area of
its coverage and on the strengths of its representation of diversity.
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