Product Description

A low-level textbook that looks at the "basics" of this area of study. Stephen Wise takes the reader through the field in short, "bite-sized" pieces, enabling them to understand more clearly.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #452820 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-07
• Released on: 2002-05-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Geometre - Landmeter, Jaargand - Année 44, 2002
"Stephen Wise's articles have provided a clear and simple introduction to the inner workings of GIS for a non-specialist audience"

From the Publisher
Specific areas explained include:

how GIS operates in the way that it does.
how spatial data is stored on a computer.
how different methods affect the capabilities of the GIS.
how basic operations are performed.
how the choice of algorithm affects the speed of the system.

From the Back Cover
An abundance of literature exists that examines how organizations use GIS to solve problems, but until now there has been very little instructional material that details how the software performs these operations. GIS Basics introduces many of the main ideas and issues in the design of GIS, focusing on the technical issues relating to the inner workings of these systems. This textbook provides undergraduates with an introduction to supporting concepts in computer science, making much of the GIS literature much more accessible.

Based upon a series of articles that explained in simple language how computer science fundamentals apply to GIS, the text begins by considering the data structures and algorithms used to handle vector data. It then explores the way in which efficiency is addressed in practice, and describes the data structures and algorithms used for raster data. The text continues by discussing how large spatial databases can be indexed so that individual features can be accessed efficiently. The final chapters investigate geographical phenomena which can be modeled using both vector and raster, and compares the algorithms which are used in each case.

About the Author
Stephen Wise became a lecturer in the Department of Geography at the University of Sheffield in 1990. He teaches GIS at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His research interests include the study of error propagation in digital terrain models, the development of spatial analysis facilities in GIS, and the use of image processing techniques to capture data from scanned maps.

Customer Reviews

Basically Excellent
Oh no yet another book on GIS? Well, yes and no. Yes, it is another book on GIS. But, no, it's not the same as its many 'rivals'. Instead of trying to produce a book that is all things to all people, Wise has wisely concentrated on what he describes as the 'inner workings' of GIS: how GIS systems operate, how spatial data are stored on a computer, how the different methods affect the capabilities of GIS, how basic operations are performed, how the choice of algorithm affects the speed of the system. The real triumph is that he does so in a clear and, most importantly, interesting way. I agree with his assertion that such insights into the workings of a GIS are useful and interesting to those with no previous knowledge in this area. I don't agree that previous books have been overly technical in this domian, just overly dull (a mistake that Wise avoids).

The only slight led-down is the quality of some of the illustrations which are not good and actually put me off reading the text for some while. But, don't let them (or the uninspiring front cover) put you off. This is a good book, very readable and an excellent complement to more general books on the field such as Longley et al.'s Geographical Information Systems and Science (Wiley: 2001). Indeed, I'd recommend these two books as a 'pair' that go well together and provide excellent learning to anyone interested in GIScience and -Systems.