Geographic Information Systems: A Guide to Technology

Geographic information systems (GIS) enable governments, public agencies and utilities, scientists and commercial organizations to access and integrate data from several unrelated databases at once to share information more easily. Now a group of leading GIS experts offer the first comprehensive implementation guide to geographic information management technology for mapping, storing, acquiring and manipulating spatial data. Designed to advance the understanding and implementation of this growing technology. it explains how GIS encourages the integrated activity of multiple departments to solve problems more comprehensively and systematically, while dramatically reducing the redundancies and inconsistencies that occur daily in research and industry. This book reaches out to novices by clearly answering the most frequently asked questions about the technology, defusing misconceptions and calming typical user anxieties along the way. While some knowledge of computer and data processing concepts is helpful, it is not essential to their understanding of the book - a glossary provides full explanations of basic computer terms and concepts. At the same time it serves veteran GIS practitioners by thoroughly addressing such central concerns as database development, maintenance and accrss, cost benefit analysis, selecting and upgrading hardware and software packages, minimizing the "cultural" impact of database sharing and dealing with corporate and legal issues. This book should be of interest to earth scientists, computer scientists, information technologists.