Lecture 9
Components of GIS data output functions
Geographic Information System Five
Components.
1.
Hardware:
2.
Software:
3.
Data:
4.
People:
5.
Methods:
Figure:
How GIS Components integrate with each other
Hardware:
Hardware is Computer on which GIS software runs. Nowadays there are a different
range of computer, it might be Desktop or server based. ArcGIS Server is server
based computer where GIS software runs on network computer or cloud based. For
computer to perform well all hardware component must have high capacity. Some
of the hardware components are: Motherboard, Hard driver, processor, graphics
card, printer and so on. These all component function together to run a GIS
software smoothly.
Main
Hardware Components:
1. Motherboard:
It
is board where major hardware parts are installed or It is a place
where all components gets hooked up.
2. Hard
Drive: It is also called hard disk, place to store
data.
3. Processor:
Processor is the major component in computer, it performs calculation. It is
called as Central processing Unit (CPU).
4. RAM:
Random Access Memory (RAM) where all running programs load temporarily.
5. Printer:
It is output device and used to print image, map or document. There are various
type of printer available in market.
6. External
Disk: These are portable storage space such as USB drive,
DVD, CD or external disk.
7. Monitor:
It is a screen for displaying output information. Nowadays there are various
type of monitor: CRT (cathode ray tube), LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), LED
(Light Emitting Diodes) and more.
Software:
Next component is GIS software which provide tools to run and edit spatial
information. It helps to query, edit, run and display GIS data. It uses RDBMS
(Relational Database Management System) to store the data. Few GIS software
list: ArcGis, ArcView 3.2, QGIS, SAGA GIS.
Software
Components:
1. GIS Tools: Key
tools to support the browsing of the GIS data
2. RDBMS:
Relational
Database Management System to store GIS data. GIS Software retrieve from RDBMS or insert data into
RDBMS.
3. Query
Tools: Tools that work with database management system
for querying, insertion, deletion and other SQL (Standard Query Language).
4. GUI:
Graphical User Interface that helps user and Software to interact well.
5. Layout:
Good layout window to design map.
Data:
The most important and expensive component of the Geographic Information
System is Data which is generally known as fuel for GIS. GIS data is
combination of graphic and tabular data. Graphic can be vector or raster. Both
type of data can be created in house using GIS software or can be purchased.
The process of creating the GIS data from the analog data or paper format is
called digitization. Digitization process involves registering of raster
image using few GCP (ground control point) or known coordinates. This
process is widely known as rubber sheeting or georefrencing. Polygon, lines and
points are created by digitizing raster image. Raster image itself can be
registered with coordinates which is widely known as rectifying the image.
Registered image are mostly exported in TIFF format. As mentioned above, GIS
data can be Raster or Vector.
GIS
Data Types:
1. Raster:
Raster image store information in a cell based manner. It can be aerial photo,
satellite image, Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Raster images normally store
continuous data.
2. Vector:
Vector data are discrete. It store information in x, y coordinate format. There
are three types of Vector data:
Lines, Points and Area.
People:
People are user of Geographic Information System. They run the GIS software.
Hardware and software have seen tremendous development which made people easy
to run the GIS software. Also computer are affordable so people are using for
GIS task. These task may be creating simple map or performing advance GIS
analysis. The people are main component for the successful GIS.
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