Geographic Information System

A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer system for capturing, storing, querying, analyzing, and displaying geospatial data. Geospatial data describe both the location and attributes of spatial features. A GIS comprises the components of hardware, software, data, people, and organization. Prompted by the introduction of personal computers (PCs) and graphical user interfaces, GIS flourished in the 1980s. Now GIS is an indispensable tool in resource management, emergency planning, crime analysis, public health, land records management, precision farming, and many other fields. Geospatial data are spatially referenced and can be either vector or raster. Common GIS operations include data acquisition, data management, data query, vector data analysis, raster data analysis, and data display. An important trend is the integration of desktop GIS and web and mobile technologies, which has already led to the development of location‐based services, collaborative web mapping, and volunteered geographic information.