GIS — page 3 of 6

GIS terms

201. Geocoding Assigning locational values (for example: latitude and longitude coordinates) to attribute data, such as an event or an address, that results in a feature…
202. geographic data The locations and descriptions of geographic features. The composite of spatial data and descriptive data.
203. geographic data set One of seven geographic data types supported by ARC/INFO. Geographic data sets in ARC/INFO include coverages, grids, DBMS tables, tins, images, lattices…
204. geographic database A collection of spatial data and related descriptive data organized for efficient storage and retrieval by many users.
205. geographic feature A user-defined geographic phenomenon that can be modeled or represented using geographic data sets in ARC/INFO.
206. Geographic Information Retrieval and Analysis (GIRAS) (GIRAS) Geographic Information Retrieval and Analysis data files from the U.S. Geological Survey.
207. Geographic Information System (GIS) (GIS) A set of computer tools and procedures used to collect, manage, analyze and display information associated with a specific location; a computerized…
208. Geographical Resource Analysis Support System (GRASS) (GRASS) A public-domain raster GIS modeling product of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers' Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (USACERL).
209. geometry Geometry deals with the measures and properties of points, lines and surfaces. In ARC/INFO, geometry is used to represent the spatial component of…
210. georeference To establish the relationship between page coordinates on a planar map and known real-world coordinates.
211. georelational model A geographic data model that represents geographic features as an interrelated set of spatial and descriptive data.
212. GeoTIFF A binary digital image format commonly used by GIS software that is characterized by reference information embedded in the file header as opposed to an…
213. Global Positioning System (GPS) (GPS) A navigation system which uses a constellation of artificial earth satellites to make precise determinations of the latitude and longitude of locations on…
214. Government Open System Interconnection Protocols (GOSIP) (GOSIP) U.S. government procurement specifications for OSI protocols (see OSI). The government has mandated that all federal agencies standardize on the OSI model…
215. grain tolerance A parameter controlling the number of vertices and the distance between them on arcs representing curves.
216. graphical user interface (GUI) (GUI) A graphical method of controlling how a user interacts with a computer to perform various tasks.
217. graphics display terminal A computer terminal used to view and manipulate graphic information. It can also be used for graphic selection (e.g.
218. graphics page That area on the graphics display device reserved for map display, or simulating the plotter page area.
219. gravity model A methodology used in the geography, engineering and social sciences to model the behavior of populations.
220. Grid A common term referring to an electricity transmission and distribution system.
221. grid cell A discretely uniform unit that represents a portion of the Earth, such as a square meter or square mile.
222. ground control Physical points on the ground whose positions are known with respect to some horizontal coordinate system and/or vertical datum.
223. hardware The physical components of a computer system-the computer, plotters, printers, terminals, digitizers, and so on.
224. Health Health services, human ecology, and safety. For example, resources describing human disease and illness, factors affecting health, hygiene, mental and…
225. heuristic A computational method that uses trial and error methods to approximate a solution for computationally difficult problems.
226. Historic The time period after the appearance of written records. In the New World, this generally refers to the time period after the beginning of European…
227. historical view In ArcStorm, a snapshot of the state of a given data source at a given time. In an historical view, the database is not modified, and no data is created…
228. history A mechanism in ArcStorm to enable the tracking of changes made to a data source.
229. Hub A network device that connects multiple computers/peripherals together and allows them to share data.
230. Hydrography Scientific study of physical aspects of all waters on the Earth's surface. Water features in 7.
231. Identity The topological overlay of a coverage (input) with a polygon coverage (identity).
232. identity link A coverage link whose from-location is the same as its to-location. Used to control rubber sheeting and adjustment operations.
233. Image To image a hard drive is to make an identical copy of the hard drive, including empty sectors.
234. image catalog An organized set of spatially referenced, possibly overlapping, images that can be accessed as one logical image.
235. image integrator A collection of image management and display tools in ARC/INFO that allows vector and raster data to be displayed concurrently.
236. imagery (IH-mij-ree) A technique in which the person focuses on positive images in his or her mind.
237. impedance The amount of resistance (or cost) required to traverse a line from its origin node to its destination node or to make a turn (i.e.
238. Index Statistical measure of the state of the stock market or economy based on the performance of stocks or other components.
239. index coverage The polygon coverage that describes, and is used as a spatial index for, the tile structure of a layer.
240. INFO A tabular DBMS used by ARC/INFO to store and manipulate feature attribute tables and other related tables.
241. INFO database The contents of a set of INFO data files, feature attribute tables, and related files stored in each ARC/INFO workspace under a subdirectory named INFO.
242. INFORMIX A relational database management system to which ARC/INFO has access through the DATABASE INTEGRATOR.
243. INGRES A relational database management system to which ARC/INFO has access through the DATABASE INTEGRATOR.
244. Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) (IGES) A common data format used for transfer of CAD data. IGES files can be converted to and from ARC/INFO coverages.
245. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (IEEE) IEEE Standard 1003.1-1990 (aka POSIX.1) defines C program interfaces for the operating system that enable source code portability beyond the ANSI C…
246. integer A number without a decimal (0, 1, 25, 173, 1032, etc.). Integer values can be less than, equal to, or greater than zero.
247. Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) (ISDN) provides WAN (see WAN) combined transmission of analog and digital services. ISDN is offered as a Basic Rate Service on either one or two channels for WAN…
248. Integrated Terrain Unit Mapping (ITUM) (ITUM) An example of integrated data management. It is the process of adjusting terrain unit boundaries so that there is increased coincidence between the…
249. inter-application communication (IAC) (IAC) A technology that enables software applications on remote or local machines to communicate with each other.
250. interaction Interaction is a measure of the estimated number of trips that will be generated between origins and destinations for a particular activity.
251. interaction matrix A generated INFO file containing the number of interactions occurring between a set of origins and destinations.
252. Interactive Graphics Design Software (IGDS) (IGDS) Intergraph IGDS file formats can be converted to and from ARC/INFO coverages.
253. Interapplication communication (IAC) (IAC) The capability of one computer program to communicate with another program. With IAC, two (or more) programs can execute simultaneously, share data, and…
254. interface (1) A shared boundary defined by common physical interconnection characteristics, signal characteristics, and meanings of interchanged signals.
255. internal number See Cover#.
256. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (ISO) A worldwide federation of national standards bodies (e.g., ANSI from the U.S.) that develops international standards.
257. Internet A worldwide network of networks that all use the TCP/IP communications protocol and share a common address space.
258. interpolation The estimation of z values of a surface at an unsampled point based on the known z values of surrounding points.
259. intersect The topological integration of two spatial data sets that preserves features that fall within the area common to both input data sets.
260. ISO 8211 The third of three parts of the SDTS (see SDTS) that specifies data transfer implementation (i.e., encoding method).
261. ISO 9000 Established in 1987, ISO 9000 is an international set of five related standards for qualification of global quality assurance and quality control…
262. ISO 9660 Volume and file structure of CD-ROM for Information Interchange. A standard for the organization of data on CD-ROM media established by the International…
263. isoline A line on a surface connecting points of equal value.
264. item A column of information in an attribute table, for example, a single attribute of a record in an INFO data file.
265. item indexing A means of accelerating logical queries and tabular 'relates' by creating an index on an item in a database table.
266. join See relational join.
267. label point See point.
268. Landsat Land Satellite (NASA programs satellite).
269. Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) (LIDAR) An optical remote sensing technology which measures properties of scattered light to find range and/or other information of a distant target.
270. latitude-longitude A spherical reference system used to measure locations on the Earth's surface. Latitude and longitude are angles measured from the Earth's center to…
271. Lattice The regular periodic arrangement of atoms or molecules in a crystal of semiconductor material.
272. layer A thematic set of spatial data described and stored in an ArcStorm database or a LIBRARIAN map library.
273. layer index See cross-tile indexing.
274. least-cost path The path, among possibly many, between two points which has the lowest traversal cost, where cost is a function of time, distance, or other user-defined…
275. left-right topology The topological data structure ARC/INFO uses to represent contiguity between polygons. Left-right supports analysis functions such as adjacency.
276. legend The reference area on a map that lists and explains the colors, symbols, line patterns, shadings, and annotation used on the map.
277. LIBRARIAN Meets the informational needs of the judges and lawyers.
278. library A collection of cells, usually bacteria or yeast, that have been transformed with recombinant vectors carrying DNA inserts from a single species.
279. line See Groove
280. line symbol A symbol for drawing coverage arcs.
281. line-in-polygon A spatial operation in which arcs in one coverage are overlaid with polygons of another coverage to determine which arcs, or portions of arcs, are…
282. linear event See event.
283. linear feature A geographic feature that can be represented by a line or set of lines. For example, rivers, roads within a pizza delivery area, and electric and…
284. link See Hyperlink.
285. literal A string, a number, or a date which directly represents a constant value. 'XYZ123', '1234' and '6/10/57' are examples of a string literal, a numeric…
286. Local Area Network (LAN) (LAN) Computer data communications technology that connects computers at the same site.
287. Location Positional information and services. For example, resources describing addresses, geodetic networks, postal zones and services, control points, and place…
288. Location Based Services (LBS) (LBS) A subset of geographic information systems (GIS) technology supporting the integration of spatial location into business processes.
289. Log File A coverage or workspace history file containing a list of all commands used to operate on a coverage or all commands used in the workspace.
290. logical connector One of the reserved words AND, OR and XOR used to build complex logical expressions in a query.
291. logical expression A combination of items, system items, system variables, literals and arithmetic logical operators from which a value of TRUE or FALSE is derived; for…
292. logical operator Another term for Boolean operator. See Boolean expression.
293. logical selection The process of selecting a subset of features from a coverage using logical expression that operates on the attributes of coverage features (e.g.
294. long transaction Long transactions support applications where changes to a database might span several days, weeks or months and may involve several sessions.
295. Longitude The location east or west in reference to the Prime Meridian, which is designated as zero (0) degrees longitude.
296. lookup table A special tabular data file containing additional attributes for features stored in an associated feature attribute table.
297. Macro A series of commands that are configured to be executed together with one button press.
298. many-to-one relate A relate in which many records in one table are related to a single record in another table.
299. MAP 1. verb: to determine the relative positions of loci (genes or DNA sequences) on a chromosome.
300. map extent The rectangular limits (xmin,ymin and xmax,ymax) of the area of the Earth's surface displayed using ARC/INFO.