What’s a GIS

The GIS word stands for Geographic Information System.

A GIS is able to calculate geospatial data and alphanumeric data, convert data to added value information, integrate several data types, analyze and give models to phenomena on earth, provide solutions to decision-makers.

Many people consider GIS as one of most powerful instruments among all information technologies because they allow to integrate the knowledge from multiple sources and generate a transversal environment of partnership. in addition GIS are easily understood and cognitive, they join analytics structure with a powerful environment of visualization which has its origins in Geographic Science. These features are based on a reliable science and easily transmissible among cultures, languages and different disciplines. In order to support these characteristics GIS must be see in three different approaches:

  • Geodata: GIS is spatial database, which contains a dataset that represents the geographic information and permits to manage vectorial elements, raster images, attributes, topologies, networks and so on.

  • Geovisualization: a GIS allows to build completed and complex geographic representations in which are displayed features and spatial relations with Earth’s surface. Views on the information system may be designed though queries to database, analysis and editing of geographic data.  Each GIS has got a set of bidimensional and 3D applications which provide instruments to be able to interact with data by using these different approaches.

 

  • Geoprocessing:a GIS is a set of tools for making geographic analysis and processing. The geoprocessing functions allow to apply analytic functionalities and store the results in to new datasets. The geopocessing permits to schedule activities and automate workflows by using of sorting lists of operations.