Geographic Information Systems Using ESRI ArcGIS 9.3 INTRODUCTION

GIS = Geographic Information System = a software package aimed to import, store, handle, edit, view, query, analyze, interpolate and print geographic information

INTRODUCTION GEOREFERENCE Coordinates: metric (X, Y) or geographic (Lat, Lon) + Coordinate System (Geographic / Projected, Method, Geodetic parameters) Every geographic object has to be characterized by its position on the Earth’s surface

INTRODUCTION DATA STRUCTURES Vector Raster Table

INTRODUCTION DATA STRUCTURES: Vector Precise but complicated, has its basic topology Points: each point has its x,y coordinate Polylines Polygons

INTRODUCTION DATA STRUCTURES: Vector Precise but complicated, has its topology Points Polylines: ordered array of points Polygons

INTRODUCTION DATA STRUCTURES: Vector Precise but complicated; has a complex topology Points Polylines Polygons: polylines closing on themselves

INTRODUCTION DATA STRUCTURES: Raster Easy to handle but with a low precision Regular rectangular matrix of square pixels The whole grid is georeferenced

INTRODUCTION DATA STRUCTURES: Tables Ancillary information no georeference (no coordinates)

ESRI ArcGIS 9.3 Lic. Man. -> Licence management ArcCatalog -> File management ArcGlobe -> Global representation ArcMap -> Editing, analysis and representation ArcReader -> Map scanning ArcScene -> 3D representation Desktop Ad. -> Program setup ArcToolBox -> More Analysis tools ArcInfo -> Advanced analysis