GIS Dictionary

[ESRI software] An error that is an acceptable violation of a topology rule. In ArcMap, for example, a cul-de-sac is a legitimate exception to the rule that prohibits dangles.

A binary file containing a program that can be run as a stand-alone application. In the Microsoft Windows program, executable files are designated with an .exe extension.

[ESRI software] The condition of a tool upon closure. If a tool fails due to a programming bug or command failure, the exit state will be “failed.”

[ESRI software] An editing process that separates a multipart feature into its component features, which become independent features.

[mathematics] In mathematics, a number that indicates how many times a base value is multiplied by itself. Exponents are usually indicated with superscripts.

[computing] To move data from one computer system to another, and often, in the process, from one file format to another.

[computing] To move data from one computer system to another, and often, in the process, from one file format to another.

[aerial photography] In aerial photography, each point in the flight path at which the camera exposes the film.

A sequence of operands and operators constructed according to the syntactic rules of a symbolic language that evaluates to a single number, string, or value.

[programming] In AutoCAD, extra optional data attached to an AutoCAD drawing element.

[ESRI software] In ArcGIS, an optional software module that adds specialized tools and functionality to ArcGIS Desktop. ArcGIS Network Analyst, ArcGIS StreetMap, and ArcGIS Business Analyst are examples of ArcGIS … Read more

The minimum bounding rectangle (xmin, ymin and xmax, ymax) defined by coordinate pairs of a data source. All coordinates for the data source fall within this boundary.

[ESRI software] A rectangle that is displayed in one data frame, showing the size and position of another data frame.

[ESRI software] A private ArcIMS virtual server that clips data and saves it to a Zip file.

[ESRI software] An ArcToolbox wizard that selects features from a coverage based on attribute values to create a new coverage.

[data management] A specification that defines parameters for feature extraction and attribution. Specifications typically include the size of features to be collected, density of feature collection, scale ranges, and attribute … Read more

[statistics] Using known or observed data to infer or calculate values for unobserved times, locations or other variables outside a sampled area. In the absence of data, extrapolation is a … Read more

[3D analysis] The process of projecting features in a two-dimensional data source into a three-dimensional representation: points become vertical lines, lines become planes, and polygons become three-dimensional blocks. Uses of … Read more