GIS basics

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are computer systems for storing, displaying and analysing spatial data. The past twenty years have seen a rapid growth in their use in government, commerce and academia, and they can be used for managing a network of utilities, from handling census data through to planning the location of a new supermarket.But how do they work?Stephen Wise has been a regular contributor to GeoEurope and his 'Back to Basics' articles have provided a clear and simple introduction to the inner workings of GIS for a non-specialist audience. He now presents the original…