GIS Dictionary

[computing] Within the process space of a client application, a class contained in a DLL is in-process, as objects are loaded into the process space of the client EXE. A … Read more

[programming] An interface implemented by a class, on which a client can call members.

[network analysis] In ArcGIS Network Analyst, a network location used in closest facility analysis. Car accidents, crime scenes, and fires are examples of incidents.

[physics] Electromagnetic radiation that strikes a surface.

[standards] Acronym for International Committee for Information Technology Standards. An ANSI-accredited forum that creates and maintains information and communications technology standards through the participation and consensus of its industry members.

[statistics] One or a set of variables used to model or predict the dependent variable. For example, a prediction of annual purchases for a proposed store (the dependent variable) might … Read more

[network analysis] In networks, a flow direction that is unknown or undiscoverable. Indeterminate flow direction occurs when flow direction cannot be determined from the connectivity of the network, the locations … Read more

[computing] A data structure, usually an array, used to speed the search for records in a database or for spatial features in geographic datasets. In general, unique identifiers stored in … Read more

On a topographic map, a contour line that is thicker than the rest and usually labeled with the elevation that it represents. Depending on the contour interval, every fourth or … Read more

[cartography] A schematic map used as a reference for a collection of map sheets, outlining the total area covered along with the coverage extent of, and usually a name or … Read more

[organizational issues] An organization with specific GIS needs. Examples of industries include government, transportation, health care, homeland security, and public safety.

[ESRI software] A tabular database management system used by ArcInfo Workstation software to store and manipulate attributes of a GIS dataset in ArcInfo Workstation format. INFO databases are stored inside … Read more

[cognition] A geometric representation of relationships between elements in a data domain, in which relative position indicates the degree of similarity between elements. Information spaces are often based on geographic … Read more

[non-ESRI software] A commercial relational database management system (RDBMS) supported by ArcSDE.

[data capture] A device that detects infrared radiation and nverts it into an electrical signal that can be recorded on film or magnetic tape.

[government] The system of human-made physical structures, such as roads, bridges, canals, cables, wires, communications towers, hospitals, pipes, reservoirs, and sewers, that provide communication, transportation, public services, utilities, or all … Read more

[computing] In object-oriented programming, the acquisition of methods and properties by child classes or interfaces from their previously existing parent classes or interfaces. Inheritance is one of the defining characteristics … Read more

[modeling] Data that is entered into a computer, device, program, or process.

[ESRI software] In geocoding, a piece of information such as a customer address and location of an incident. Input event record types vary by application. They include customer addresses, location … Read more

[analysisgeoprocessing] In geoprocessing, data put into the system for processing, usually specified by a path in a dialog box, script, or at the command line.

[analysisgeoprocessing] In geoprocessing, tabular data put into the system for processing, usually specified by a path in a dialog box, script, or at the command line.

[map design] A small map set within a larger map. An inset map might show a detailed part of the map at a larger scale, or the extent of the … Read more

1 [computing] In object-oriented programming, a single object created based on the template or definition of the class to which it belongs. 2 [ESRI software] In ArcSDE, a single installation … Read more

[computing] In programming, the process of creating a single object based on the template or definition of the class to which it belongs.

[ESRI software] In the Survey Analyst for field measurements Survey Explorer, a field that allows the user to select the instrument setup or enter the name of a new instrument … Read more

[ESRI software] In geodatabases, a feature dataset that stores topologically associated feature classes. The topological editing tools in ArcMap can be used to maintain the topological associations of features in … Read more

[data transfer] A high degree of interconnection between two or more programs or datasets, in which they share a common schema, ontology, semantic approach, or method that allows information to … Read more

In the IHS (intensity, hue, saturation) color model, the relative brightness of a color.

[data conversion] A manual process for converting raster data into vector features that involves tracing raster cells.

[data sharing] A file format that allows the easy exchange of data between different software programs.

[remote sensing] A radar image that records interference patterns captured by two antennae a short distance apart.

[ESRI software] One of two weights that allow control of how labels are placed relative to polygon features in ArcMap. Higher feature weights prevent labels from being placed over features. … Read more

[modeling] Any data in a process that did not exist before the process existed and that will not be maintained after the process executes.

[coordinate systems] An imaginary line, generally following the meridian of longitude lying 180 degrees east and west of the Greenwich meridian, where the date changes. The time zone east of … Read more

[organizational issues] The process of creating software that can be adapted to the requirements of different languages and cultures without substantive changes to the source code.

The global network of computers that communicate through common protocols, such as TCP/IP.

[interoperability] The capability of components or systems to exchange data with other components or systems, or to perform in multiple environments. In GIS, interoperability is required for a GIS user … Read more

1 [mathematics] The estimation of surface values at unsampled points based on known surface values of surrounding points. Interpolation can be used to estimate elevation, rainfall, temperature, chemical dispersion, or … Read more

[map projections] A world projection that reduces distortion by dividing the projected area into gores, each with its own central meridian.

[analysisgeoprocessing] A geometric integration of spatial datasets that preserves features or portions of features that fall within areas common to all input datasets.

[data management] The point where two lines cross. In geocoding, most often a street crossing.

[data structures] Data classified on a linear calibrated scale, but not relative to a true zero point in time or space. Because there is no true zero point, relative comparisons … Read more

[Internet] A computer network, often using the same software and serving the same functions as those found on the Internet, that is restricted to users within an organization.

[spatial statistics use for geostatistics] In spatial statistics, the assumption that a set of data comes from a random process with a constant mean and a semivariogram that depends only … Read more

[statistics] One divided by distance, often raised to some power (1/D or 1/D2, for example), where D is a distance value. By inverting the distance among spatial features, and using … Read more

An interpolation technique that estimates cell values in a raster from a set of sample points that have been weighted so that the farther a sampled point is from the … Read more