GE 137 – Fundamentals of Remote Sensing
and Geographic Information System
for Engineers
Topic 5: Introduction to GIS
Instructor:
Engr. Monalaine M. Bermoy
Department of Geodetic Engineering
College of Engineering and Geosciences
Caraga State University
Authors/Contributors*
• This material was prepared/contributed by the following faculty
members:
Name Type of Contribution Date of Contribution/Revision
Kendel P. Bolanio Established (first version) 10/31/2021
*If this material was edited, revised or updated, kindly fill-up the table
with required details accordingly.
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• Copyright © 2020-2021 by All Authors/Contributors and Department of Geodetic Engineering, College of
Engineering and Geosciences, Caraga State University, Butuan City.
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indicated above.
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Presentation Outline
• What is GIS?
• Basic Concepts
• Historical Background
• Importance of GIS
• Answering GIS Questions
• Components of GIS
• GIS Applications
• Careers and Opportunities in GIS
Expected Outcomes
At the end of the lecture, the students would be able to:
• Define and describe the fundamental concepts of GIS
• Explain the importance of GIS
• Determine basic applications of GIS to various disciplines
• Identify the main components of GIS
• Summarize the history of GIS
• Find out the careers and opportunities in the field of GIS
Part 1
• What is GIS?
• Basic Concepts
• Historical Background
• Importance of GIS
• Answering GIS Questions
• Components of GIS
• GIS Applications
• Careers and Opportunities in GIS
What is GIS?
Geographic
Information
Systems/Science/Studies
What is GIS?
“Geographic”
• of or relating to geography (Merriam-
Webster Dictionary)
• Geography refers to the study of
lands, features, inhabitants and
phenomena of the Earth and
planets.
➢comes from the Greek word
geographia, meaning “earth
description”
Source: http://www.britishempire.co.uk/images4/ortelius1570maplarge.jpg
What is GIS?
“Information”
• Defined as the knowledge that you get about someone or something:
facts or details about a subject (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
• Information = data + context
Data = facts
Information = facts with reasoning
What is GIS?
“Information System”
• an organized system for the
collection, organization, storage
and communication of Information
information
What is GIS?
“Geographic Information
System”
• an organized system for the
collection, organization, storage Geographic
and communication of Information
geographic information
What is GIS?
“GIS is an integrated collection of
computer software and data used to view
and manage information about
geographic places, analyze spatial
relationships, and model spatial
processes. A GIS provides a framework
for gathering and organizing spatial data
and related information so that it can be
displayed and analyzed.”
What is GIS?
A Practical Definition
• “Software and data that enables us to ask and answer questions
involving where something is and how that location relates to other
things.” - Nick Santos
Part 2
• What is GIS?
• Basic Concepts
• Historical Background
• Importance of GIS
• Answering GIS Questions
• Components of GIS
• GIS Applications
• Careers and Opportunities in GIS
Basic Concepts
Data vs Information
• Data are simply facts or figures- bits of information, but not information itself.
• When data are processed, interpreted, organized, structured or presented so as to
make them meaningful or useful, they are called information.
Source: http://www.infogineering.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/model.jpg
Basic Concepts
Data vs Information
• Data are raw, unorganized facts that need to be processed.
• Data are neutral and context-free, internal meaning is irrelevant.
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/information-products-bridging-knowledge-gap-paul-synnott
Basic Concepts
Geographic Data
• Any data that has direct or indirect
reference to a specific location or
geographical area
• Data that include a reference to a location
on the Earth together with some non-
spatial attributes
• “Geo-data have spatial attributes
that can be used to link it to a
place in the real world.”
• Geographic Data is commonly referred to
as “Geospatial Data” or simply “Spatial
Data”.
Basic Concepts
Geographic Information
• These are meaningful or useful
results from the processing,
interpretation, organization,
structuring or presentation of
geographic data.
Basic Concepts
Geographic Information
• Sometimes referred to as Spatial Information
• Links place/location, time, and attributes
• Example: “The temperature at 10am of June 20, 2014 in Caraga State
University is 29 degrees Celsius.”
Basic Concepts
Data Input
Data Output
GIS Data
Capabilities Management
Data
Manipulation
and Analysis
Basic Concepts
• Viewing Spatial Data
Basic Concepts
• Creating New Data
Source: https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/10.3/manage-data/editing-fundamentals/exercise-1b-digitizing-lines-and-snapping.htm
Basic Concepts
• Transform the Data
Basic Concepts
• Display the Data
Basic Concepts
• Integration
Part 3
• What is GIS?
• Basic Concepts
• Historical Background
• Importance of GIS
• Answering GIS Questions
• Components of GIS
• GIS Applications
• Careers and Opportunities in GIS
History of GIS
• Ancient Mapping
Babylonian Clay Tablet map (and reconstructed drawing) from
Ga-Sur, northern Iraq (ca. 2500 B.C.)
History of GIS
• Cartography and Coordinate Systems
A draught of the coast of Africa from the straights mouth to
Cape Bona Esprance. Published in 1707. Source: New York
Public Library
History of GIS
• The Beginning of Spatial Analysis
1854 Cholera outbreak; 89 died (79 at Broad St.)
History of GIS
• 1960s: Dawn of the Computer Age
• GIS really took off with the advent of the
computer in the 1960s.
➢ 1963 - CGIS (Canada GIS) by the Government of
Canada: This is considered the first true GIS
➢ 1964 - Harvard Lab for Computer Graphics,
➢ 1967- GBF/DIME (Geographic Base File using Dual
Independent Map Encoding) of US Census
History of GIS
• 1980s: Beginnings of Desktop Computing
• development of integrated software in
publicly or commercially available packages
➢ McIDAS (1973) by University of Wisconsin
➢ ERDAS (1978) by Leica-Geosystems
➢ ArcInfo by Esri (1981/82) and ArcView (1995),
ArcGIS (2010)
➢ GRASS by US Army Corp (1982/1985)
➢ IDRISI (1987) by Clark University, MA
History of GIS
• 1990s/2000s: Graphical Desktop Computing Dawns
• technology improvements:
➢ Internet and Web - easier access to data, data
sharing and publishing
➢ MA Desktop computers become more powerful
and less expensive allowing more users access to
GIS and analysis
History of GIS
• GIS Today • Data storage and retrieval systems able to
handle large datasets
➢ Computing power continues to increase
➢ GIS data servers, and/or adoption of more
➢ Wide deployment of Desktop GIS “standard” data formats
➢ Increased use of Web GIS
• More remote sensing data available with
software capable of analysis
• Open-Source GIS platforms,
• Open GIS: Quantum GIS (QGIS), GAIA, uDig
• Web-based GIS – ArcGIS Online, Google Earth
• Volunteer Geographic Information (Crowd
sourcing) for data creation
• Cloud based GIS
Part 4
• What is GIS?
• Basic Concepts
• Historical Background
• Importance of GIS
• Answering GIS Questions
• Components of GIS
• GIS Applications
• Careers and Opportunities in GIS
Importance of GIS
Why does GIS matter?
• Knowing where something
happens is of critical importance
in decision-making.
• Geographic location is an
important attribute of activities,
policies, strategies, and plans.
• “Anything that takes place in the
Earth’s surface must have
happened somewhere.”
Importance of GIS
• GIS is about finding patterns in data and solving real-world problems.
• It is able to easily integrate data from various sources and in different
formats to come up with more accurate and timely decisions, thereby
solving real-world problems.
• Able to answer questions quickly and easily about location (Where?
Why? How?)
• Illustrate patterns and trends that tabular data alone cannot show.
Source: http://www.infogineering.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/model.jpg
Part 5
• What is GIS?
• Basic Concepts
• Historical Background
• Importance of GIS
• Answering GIS Questions
• Components of GIS
• GIS Applications
• Careers and Opportunities in GIS
Answering GIS Questions
Types of Questions We Can Ask
• What exists at a certain location?
• Where are certain conditions satisfied?
• What has changed in a place over time?
• What spatial patterns exist?
• What if this condition occurred at this place? Where do variables
interact?
Source: http://www.infogineering.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/model.jpg
Answering GIS Questions
Location: What is at.....?
• seek to find out what exist at a particular location
• location can be described in many ways:
▪ place name
▪ post code, or
▪ geographic reference such as longitude/latitude or x/y
Source: http://www.infogineering.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/model.jpg
Answering GIS Questions
Condition: Where is it.....?
• Instead of identifying what exist at a given location, one may wish to
find location(s) where certain conditions are satisfied
• E.g., where are the State Colleges/Universities in Mindanao that offer
BS Geodetic Engineering programs?
Source: http://www.infogineering.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/model.jpg
Answering GIS Questions
Trends: What has changed since.....?
• seeks to find the differences over time.
• E.g., What has changed in the urban area of Butuan City since 2005?
Source: http://www.infogineering.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/model.jpg
Answering GIS Questions
Patterns: What spatial pattern exists.....?
• To determine whether an occurrence is caused by its spatial location or
proximity to a certain feature
• E.g., The flood water in Tubay near the mining area recedes slower
than the other barangays.
Source: http://www.infogineering.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/model.jpg
Answering GIS Questions
Modeling: What if.....?
• To determine what happens if something is changed or something
occurs.
• E.g., If the new drainage canals in Butuan City are to be used now, how
will these affect the flooding scenarios in Butuan?
Source: http://www.infogineering.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/model.jpg
Part 6
• What is GIS?
• Basic Concepts
• Historical Background
• Importance of GIS
• Answering GIS Questions
• Components of GIS
• GIS Applications
• Careers and Opportunities in GIS
GIS Components
GIS Components
Hardware • consists of the computer system on which the GIS software
will run
• made up of a configuration of core and peripheral equipment
Software used for acquisition, storage, analysis, and display of
geographic information
• the computer forms the backbone of the GIS hardware, the
Data heart of which is the Central Processing Unit (CPU)
People
Methods
GIS Components
Hardware • provides the functions and tools needed to store, analyze, and
display geographic data and information
• examples are QGIS, ArcGIS, MapInfo, Map Window, etc.
Software • can range from a simple package designed for a single PC to
a major industrial-level workhorse for an entire group of
networked computers
Data
People
Methods
GIS Components
Hardware • the core of GIS
• may be geographic or tabular/attribute data
• attribute data are additional information that describe the
Software characteristics of spatial data
Data
People
Methods https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nedhal_Al-Saiyd/publication/281525427/figure/fig1/AS:284447426531337@1444828959740/Figure-4-GIS-data-layers-or-themes-26.png
GIS Components
Hardware • GIS users range from technical specialists who design and
maintain the system to those who use it to help them perform
their everyday work.
Software • can be classified into three categories:
• General users
• Viewers
• GIS specialists
Data
People
Methods
GIS Components
Hardware Type of GIS
Who are they? Use for GIS
Users
Occasionally browse a geographic
Viewers Public at large
database for referential information
Software
General Users Facility managers, resource Conducting business, performing
planners, scientists, engineers, professional services, decision-making
land administrators, lawyers,
business entrepreneurs, and
Data politicians
GIS specialists Those who actually make GIS work: Maintenance of geographic database,
GIS managers, database provision of technical support for the
People administrators, application viewers and general users, application
specialists, system analysts, and for advanced spatial data analysis and
programmers modeling, production of information
products according to user
Methods specifications
GIS Components
Hardware
Software
Data
People http://gisinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Five-Personas.png
Methods
GIS Components
Hardware • includes procedures used to capture, store, manipulate,
analyze, manage, present, and disseminate geographic data
Software
Data
People
Methods
Part 7
• What is GIS?
• Basic Concepts
• Historical Background
• Importance of GIS
• Answering GIS Questions
• Components of GIS
• GIS Applications
• Careers and Opportunities in GIS
GIS Applications
• Cartography: Map Making
• Databases: Information Storage and Retrieval
• Topology: Spatial Relationships
• Monitoring: Temporal Data Gathering
• Change Detection: Spatial Unit Change per Unit Time Change
GIS Applications
SOLUTIONS
Spatial
Analyses
•environmental management and conservation
GIS •defense and intelligence purposes
•governmental administration
•resource management in agriculture and forestry
•geophysical exploration
•cadastral management
•telecommunications
•utility management
•business applications
•construction projects
GIS is everywhere!
GIS Applications
• Land Use Planning
GIS Applications
• Road Network Routing
GIS Applications
• Health
GIS Applications
• Signal Strength (Telecommunications)
GIS Applications
• Water Quality Assessment
GIS Applications
• Education
Part 8
• What is GIS?
• Basic Concepts
• Historical Background
• Importance of GIS
• Answering GIS Questions
• Components of GIS
• GIS Applications
• Careers and Opportunities in GIS
Careers and Opportunities in GIS
Summary
• GIS is a lot of things. GIS is awesome!
• Concepts and tools to ask and answer spatial questions
• Software, data, networks, workflows, procedures
• Geography is old; GIS is modern
• Increasingly common in analyses of all types
References
• Aronoff S., 1989. Geographic Information Systems: A Management
Perspective. WDL Publ., Ottawa, Canada
• Longley, P. A., Goodchild, M. F., Maguire, D. J., Rhind, D. W., 2005.
Geographic Information System and Science, 2nd Edition, John Wiley
and Sons, Ltd., England.
• Santillan, J. R. Review of Basic GIS Concepts and Principles. Topic 1 –
GE 127 (Advanced GIS)
• Santos, N. What is GIS? University of California-Davis: Coursera.
Course 1-Week 1: Fundamentals of GIS.
• Macatulad, E. G. Overview and History of GIS. Lecture 1 – GIM 175
Questions?
Department of Geodetic Engineering
College of Engineering and Geosciences
Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City
