GIS Software

ALSO CALLED: GPS Software, Geographic Information Systems Software, Mapping Software, Spatial Information Management Software, Digital Mapping Software, Geospatial Information Management Software
DEFINITION: A GIS (geographic information system) enables you to envision the geographic aspects of a body of data. Basically, it lets you query or analyze a database and receive the results in the form of some kind of map. Since many kinds of data have important geographic aspects, a GIS can have many uses: weather forecasting, sales analysis, population forecasting, and land use planning, to name a few. In  … 
Definition continues below.

GIS SOFTWARE DEFINITION (continued): …  a GIS, geographic information is described explicitly in terms of geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude or some national grid coordinates) or implicitly in terms of a street address, postal code, or forest stand identifier. A geographic information system contains the ability to translate implicit geographic data (such as a street address) into an explicit map location. GIS developers sometimes obtain the map data from public sources or companies that specialize in collecting and organizing geographic information. The process of converting implicit geographic data into explicit or …