GIS Dictionary

[programming] Acronym for Active Template Library. A set of C++ template classes, developed by Microsoft for use in building Windows COM objects.

[cartography] A collection of maps usually related to a particular area or theme and presented together. Examples of atlases include world atlases, historical atlases, and biodiversity atlases.

[remote sensing] Parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that can be transmitted through the atmosphere with relatively little interference.

[physics] A clock that keeps time by the radiation frequency associated with a particular atomic reaction. Atomic clocks are used in official timekeeping.

[remote sensing] The dimming and blurring effects in remotely sensed images caused by the absorption and scattering of light or other radiation that passes through the earth’s atmosphere.

[business] A measure of the combined attributes of a center or site that are considered positive features or that draw in potential customers or tenants.

1 [data models] Nonspatial information about a geographic feature in a GIS, usually stored in a table and linked to the feature by a unique identifier. For example, attributes of … Read more

[data models] Tabular or textual data describing the geographic characteristics of features.

[data structures] In a geodatabase, a mechanism for enforcing data integrity. Attribute domains define what values are allowed in a field in a feature class or nonspatial attribute table. If … Read more

[data analysis] A request for records of features in a table based on their attribute values.

[data structures] A database or tabular file containing information about a set of geographic features, usually arranged so that each row represents a feature and each column represents one feature … Read more

[data editing] In ArcMap, a dialog box that displays attributes of selected features for editing.

[data editing] The process of assigning attributes to features.