MapWindow

MapWindow is an open source "Programmable Geographic Information System" that supports manipulation, analysis, and viewing of geospatial data and associated attribute data in several standard GIS data formats.

MapWindow is a
mapping tool, a GIS modeling system and a GIS application programming interface (API) all in one convenient redistributable open source solution.

The MapWindow application is a free, extensible geographic information system (GIS) that can be in many ways:

• As an open-source alternative desktop GIS
• To distribute data to others
• To develop and distribute custom spatial data analysis tools

MapWindow (Features)

• As an open-source tool, MapWindow is free to use and redistribute to the user clients and other end users. It may also be modified to fit the user needs, or embedded into proprietary software.
• MapWindow is more than just a data viewer. It is an extensible geographic information system. This means that advanced users or developers can write plugins to add additional functionality (models, special viewers, hot-link handlers, data editors, etc.) and pass these along to any number of the user's clients and end users.
• MapWindow includes standard GIS data visualization features as well as DBF attribute table editing, shapefile editing, and data converters. Dozens of standard GIS formats are supported, including Shapefile, GeoTIFF, ESRI ArcInfo ASCII and binary grids.
• MapWindow also includes a complete ActiveX component which may be used to instantly add GIS capabilities to the user's existing software product. Additional geoprocessing components are available. NET-compatible languages.

Geographical Information System(GI)

1. GIS: A type of software

• A computer systems that allows us to handle information about the location of features or phenomena on the Earth's surface
• Has all the functionality of a conventional DBMS plus much of the functionality of a computer mapping system
• GIS as a DBMS that allows us to explicitly handle the spatial
• Common examples:

                ArcGIS

                MapInfo

2. GIS: A tool - kit

         Manipulate spatially:

                 Calculate distances and adjacencies

                 Change projections and scales

                  Integrate disparate sources

         Analyse spatially:

                  Quantitative analysis

                   Exploratory spatial data analysis

                   Qualitative analysis

         Visualize data:

                    Maps!

                    Tables, graphs, etc.

                    Animations

                    Virtual landscapes

3. Approach:

    Explore the database:

          In conventional ways

          AND geographically

• Allows us to think about the implications of location
• Allows us to think holistically
• Should not be restricted by vendor - provided functionality
• Should be used imaginatively taking into account

              - the advantages and limitations of geographical information

              - the traditions of humanities scholarship

Geographical Information Technologies

• Global Positioning System (GPS)

               a system of earth - orbiting satellites which can provide precise (100 meter to sub - cm.) location on                                   the earth's surface (in lat/long coordinates or equiv.)

• Remote Sensing (RS)

                use of satellites or aircraft to capture information about the earth's surface

                Digital ortho images a key product (map accurate digital photos)

• Geographic Information System (GIS)

                 Software systems with capability for input, storage manipulation/analysis and output/display of geographic (spatial) information

GPS and RS are sources of input data for a GIS

A GIS provides for storing and manipulating GPS and RS data.

Geographical Information System:(intuitive description)

• A map with a database behind it
• A virtual representation of the real world and its infrastructure
• A consistent "as - built" of the real world natural and manmade

Which is

• queried ti support on - going operation
• summarized to support strategic decision making and policy formulation
• analyzed to support scientific inquiry

How GIS differs from Related Systems

• DBMS - typical MIS database contains implicit but not explicit locational information

- city, country, zip code, etc. but no geographical coordinates

- is 100 N. High around the corner or across town from 200 E Main?

• Automated Mapping (AM) - primary to dimensional display davice

- thematic mapping (choropleth, etc such as SAS/GRAPH, DIDS, business mapping software) unable to relate different geographical layers (e.g zip codes and countries)

- automated cartography - graphical design oriented; limited database ability

• Facility Management (FM) System - lack spatial analysis tools
• CAD/CAM (computer aid design/drafting) - primarily 3 - D graphic creation (engineering design) and display systems

- don't reference via geographic location

- limited (if any) database ability (especially for non-spatial data)

• Graphic Software (Photoshop, Corel Draw) - sophisticated multi - dimensional graphics, but:

- lack database support

- lack two -  dimensional spatial analysis tools

GIS Data Type

Two types of data are stored for each item in the database

1. Attribute data:

               Says what a feature is 

                       Eg. statistic, text, images, sound, etc.

     2. Spatial data:

                Says where the feature is

                Co-ordinate based

                Vector data - discrete features:

                         Points

                         Lines

                         Polygons (zones or areas)

                 Raster data:

                         A continuous surface

Why study GIS?

• 80% of local government activities estimated to be geographically based

- plats, zoning public works (streets, water supply, sewers), garbage collection, land ownership and valuation, public safety (fire and police)

• A significant portion of state government has a geographical component

- natural resources management

- highways and transportation

• Businesses use GIS for a very wide array of applications

- retail site selection & customer analysis

- logistics: vehicle tracking & routing

- natural resources exploration (petroleum, etc.)

- precision agriculture

-civil engineering and construction

• Military and Defense

- Battlefield management

- Satellite imagery interpretation

• Scientific research employs GIS

- geography, geology, botany

- anthropology, sociology, economics, political science

-epidemiology, criminology

Examples of Applied GIS

Urban planning, Management & Policy

• Zonning, subdivision, planning
• Land acquisition
• Economic development
• Code enforcement
• Housing renovation programs
• Emergency response
• Crime analysis
• Tax assessment

Environment Sciences

• Monitoring environment risk
• Modeling storm water run off
• Management of water sheds, floodplains, wetlands, forests, aquifers
• Environmental Impact Analysis
• Hazardous or toxic facility siting
• Ground water modeling and contamination tracking

Political Science

• Redistricting
• Analysis of election result
• Predictive modeling

Civil Engineering/Utility

• Locating underground facilities
• Designing alignment for freeways, transit
• Coordination of infrastructure maintenance

Business

• Demographic Analysis
• Market Penetration/Share Analysis
• Site Selection

Education Administration

• Attendance Area Maintenance
• Enrollment Projections
• School Bus Routing

Health Care

• Epidemiology
• Needs Analysis
• Service Inventory

What is GIS Application DO:(manage, analyze, communication)

- make possible the automation of activities involving geographic data

• map production
• calculation of areas, distances, routes lengths
• measurement of slope, aspect, view shed
• logistics: route planning, vehicle tracking, traffic management

- allow for the integration of data hitherto confined to independent domains (e.g property maps and air photos)

- by tieing data to maps, permits the succinct communication of complex spatial patterns ( e.g environmental sensitivity)

- provides answer to spatial queries

- perform complex spatial modeling (what if scenarios for transportation planning, disaster planning, resource management, utility design)

Geographical Information (GI)

Information that refers to location on the Earth's surface has both spatial and a thematic component

Census data
Hospitals admissions data
Relief data(e.g, from contours)
Information on transport networks
A text about a specific place (e.g, Defoe's description of London during the Plague)
A photograph or painting of a building

Locational component can be an explicit (e.g, a co-ordinate or a precisely defined administrative unit) or vaguer (e.g, "The area around Philippines" or "in Filipino speaking areas")

Geographical/Geospatial Information

information about places on the earth's surface knowledge about "what is where when"


GIS - what's in the S?


Systems: the technology
Science: the concepts and theory
Studies: the societal context