Designed for a comprehensive coverage of GIS topics, this book is organized into three parts. Part 1 (chapters 1 to 8) covers the fundamentals of GIS including coordinate systems, data models, data input, data management, and data display. Part 2 (chapters 9 to 12) includes data exploration, analysis using vector and raster data, and terrain analysis. Part 3 (chapters 13 to 16) covers spatial interpolation, GIS modeling, regions, and network and dynamic segmentation. Also included in the book are new developments in GIS such as the object-oriented model and research-oriented questions such as the effect of spatial scale.This book stresses both concepts and practice. GIS concepts from fields such as geography, cartography, spatial analysis, and database management explain the purpose and objectives of GIS operations and the interrelationship among GIS operations. A basic understanding of map projection, for example, explains why we must project map layers to be used together to a common coordinate system and why we need to input numerous projection parameters.

Each chapter in this book is divided into two main sections. The first section covers topics and concepts addressed in the chapter. The second section covers applications, usually with three to five problem-solving tasks.To include data sets and instructions for the practice sections, we chose GIS packages as examples for this book, and ArcView software is included complimentary with this textbook.