GIS Dictionary

Of an arc’s two endpoints, the last one digitized. From- and to-nodes give an arc left and right sides and, therefore, direction.

[geography] A formulation of the concept of spatial autocorrelation by the geographer Waldo Tobler (1930-), which states “Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than … Read more

[ESRI software] A line of encrypted code generated by an authenticating service that allows a client to access a Web service. In ArcWeb Services, a token must be regenerated by … Read more

[data editing] The minimum or maximum variation allowed when processing or editing a geographic feature’s coordinates. For example, during editing, if a second point is placed within the snapping tolerance … Read more

1 [software] A command that requires interaction with the GUI before an action is performed. For example, a zoom tool requires a user to use the mouse to click on … Read more

[software] A graphical user interface (GUI) with buttons that allow users to execute software commands.

[ESRI software] In ArcGIS, an object that contains toolsets and geoprocessing tools. It takes the form of a .tbx file on disk, or a table in a geodatabase.

[ESRI software] In ArcToolbox (part of ArcGIS 8.3 and earlier versions), a hierarchical view of toolsets and tools grouped by functionality.

[programming] An application that software developers can use with their integrated development environment (IDE) to make programming easier. For example, SOAP toolkits allow users to interact with SOAP Web services … Read more

[ESRI software] In ArcGIS, a group of geoprocessing tools that perform similar tasks.

[software] The description of a tool or control that is displayed on screen when the mouse is paused over it.

A map that represents the vertical and horizontal positions of features, showing relief in some measurable form, such as contour lines, hypsometric tints, and relief shading.

[cartography] The study and mapping of land surfaces, including relief (relative positions and elevations) and the position of natural and constructed features.

[ESRI software] The spatial relationship between features that share geometry such as boundaries and vertices. When a boundary or vertex shared by two or more features is edited using the … Read more

[ESRI software] A feature that supports network connectivity that is established and maintained based on geometric coincidence.

1 [ESRI software] In geodatabases, the arrangement that constrains how point, line, and polygon features share geometry. For example, street centerlines and census blocks share geometry, and adjacent soil polygons … Read more

[ESRI software] A temporary collection of edges and nodes used in ArcMap to query and edit the topological coincidence between features. The cache is built for the current display extent … Read more

[ESRI software] In ArcMap, a predefined method for correcting topology errors. For example, predefined topology fixes for a dangling line include snapping, trimming, or extending to another line.

[ESRI software] An instruction to the geodatabase defining the permissible relationships of features within a given feature class or between features in two different feature classes.

[geography] A place-name.

[ESRI software] In ArcInfo Workstation, a network solver that determines the minimum-cost path to reach a series of stops, and also determines the order in which the stops are visited.

1 [cadastral and land records] In the United States, a quadrangle approximately 6 miles on a side, bounded by meridians and parallels and containing 36 sections. 2 [local government] A … Read more