Introducing Geographic Information Systems with ArcGIS: A Workbook Approach to Learning GIS, 3rd Edition

Introducing Geographic Information Systems with ArcGIS: A Workbook Approach to Learning GIS, 3rd Edition

Released April 2013
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781118159804

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Book description

An integrated approach that combines essential GIS background with a practical workbook on applying the principles in ArcGIS® 10.0 and 10.1

Introducing Geographic Information Systems with ArcGIS® integrates a broad introduction to GIS with a software-specific workbook for Esri's ArcGIS®. Where most courses make do using two separate texts, one covering GIS and another the software, this book enables students and instructors to use a single text with an integrated approach covering both in one volume with a common vocabulary and instructional style.

This revised edition focuses on the latest software updates—ArcGIS® 10.0 and 10.1. In addition to its already successful coverage, the book allows students to experience publishing maps on the Internet through new exercises, and introduces the idea of programming in the language Esri has chosen for applications (i.e., Python). A DVD is packaged with the book, as in prior editions, containing data for working out all of the exercises.

This complete, user-friendly coursebook:

  • Is updated for the latest ArcGIS® releases—ArcGIS® 10.0 and 10.1

  • Introduces the central concepts of GIS and topics needed to understand spatial information analysis

  • Provides a considerable ability to operate important tools in ArcGIS®

  • Demonstrates new capabilities of ArcGIS® 10.0 and 10.1

  • Provides a basis for the advanced study of GIS and the study of the newly emerging field of GIScience

Introducing Geographic Information Systems with ArcGIS®, Third Edition is the ideal guide for undergraduate students taking courses such as Introduction to GIS, Fundamentals of GIS, and Introduction to ArcGIS® Desktop. It is also an important guide for professionals looking to update their skills for ArcGIS® 10.0 and 10.1.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Contents
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Foreword
  7. Preface
  8. Preface to First Edition
  9. Introduction
  10. Part I: Basic Concepts of GIS
    1. Chapter 1: Some Concepts That Underpin GIS
      1. You Ask: “What Is GIS About?”
      2. And So You Ask Again: “What Is GIS About?”
      3. More of What GIS Is About
      4. Next Steps: Seemingly Independent Things You Need to Know
      5. Determining Where Something Is: Coordinate Systems
      6. Determining Where Something Is: Latitude and Longitude
      7. Geodesy, Coordinate Systems, Geographic Projections, and Scale
      8. Projected Coordinate Systems
      9. Geographic vs. Projected Coordinates: A Comparison
      10. Two Projected Coordinate Systems: UTM and State Plane
      11. Physical Dimensionality
      12. Global Positioning Systems
      13. Remote Sensing
      14. Relational Databases
      15. Searching (and Indexing) in General
      16. Another Definition of GIS
      17. Computer Software: In General
    2. Step-by-Step
      1. Understanding the File Structure for the Exercises
      2. Anatomy of the ArcCatalog Window
      3. Setting Some Options
      4. The Catalog Tree
      5. Connecting to a Folder
      6. The Toolbars and the Status Bar
      7. An Optional Step
      8. Exploring Basic GIS Data Storage Models
      9. Copying Data over to Your Personal Folder
      10. Examining the Table
      11. Deriving Information from the Table
      12. Sorting the Records
      13. Finding Values in a Table
      14. Identifying Geographic Features and Coordinates
      15. Looking at GeoGraphics
      16. A First Look at Metadata
      17. Using ArcCatalog to Place Data in ArcMap
      18. Using the Area on the Disk for Your Own Work
      19. Copying Data over to Your Personal IGIS Folder
      20. Searching for GIS Data
      21. Exploring Soils
      22. But Something Is Missing
      23. Is the Newly Found Data Applicable?
      24. Making a Personal Geodatabase Feature Class from a Coverage
      25. Looking at the Landcover Personal Geodatabase Feature Class
      26. Further Examining the Wildcat Boat Facility Area Data Sets
      27. Seeing the Results of the Join
      28. A Button for Instant Help: What’s This? (for ArcGIS Desktop version 10.0 only)
      29. Getting Instant Help for a Tool or Command (for ArcGIS Desktop version 10.1)
      30. The Help System and Documentation
      31. ArcGIS Help across the Internet
      32. What’s Next?
    3. Chapter 2: Characteristics and Examples of Spatial Data
      1. The Original Form of Spatial Data: Maps
      2. Moving Spatial Data from Maps to Computers: Forces for Change
      3. Spatial Data
      4. Limiting the Scope
      5. Spatial Data for Decision Making
      6. Sets of Spatial Data: The Database
      7. Spatial Databases: Inherent Difficulties
      8. Information Systems
      9. Uses for a Geographic Information System
    4. Step-by-Step
      1. The Basic Difference between ArcCatalog and ArcMap
      2. Exploring Data from the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS)
      3. Preliminaries
      4. Seeing the GPS File in ArcMap
      5. Looking at the GPS Track in the Context of a Variety of GIS Data
      6. A Potpourri of Types of Geographic Data
      7. Displaying Layers from Vector-Based Datasets
      8. Housekeeping: Saving and Restoring a Map
      9. Selecting: Both Map Data and Attribute Data
      10. Using the Measure Tool and the Identify Tool
      11. County Boundaries and Polygons
      12. TIGER/Line Files
      13. The Table of Contents: Display vs. Source vs. Selection
      14. Digital Raster Graphics and Cell-Based Files
      15. A Look (Optional) at How DRG Color Values Are Put Together
      16. Experimenting with Different Ways of Seeing Data
      17. Digital Orthophotos
      18. More TIGER/Line Files
      19. Another Tie between Attributes and Geographics
      20. More Housekeeping: Shutting Down and Restarting ArcMap
      21. Digital Elevation Model Files
      22. Comparing the DEM and the DRG
      23. Contour Line Files
      24. TINs are Three-Dimensional Datasets
      25. Elevation Based on Massive Sets of Data: The Esri Terrain
      26. The Summarizing Procedure
      27. Some Geological Data
      28. Rasters of Land Cover Data
      29. You Are Not Alone (Assuming you have an Internet connection)
      30. Next Steps on Your Own
      31. The Next Chapter
    5. Chapter 3: Products of a GIS: Maps and Other Information
      1. GIS and Cartography—Compatibility?
      2. Products of a Geographic Information System
      3. Overall Requirements for Utility
      4. Classification of GIS Products
      5. Documenting Products
      6. Thoughts on Different Types of Products
      7. Don’t Ignore Character-Based Information
      8. Don’t Hesitate to Sort Information
      9. Consider Hard Copy
      10. Consider Balance in Product Content
      11. Elements of Product Design
      12. Units, Projection, and Scale
      13. Thoughts on Resolution and Scale
      14. Making Sure There Is a Base Map
      15. Measure of Quality Assurance
      16. The Decision Maker–Product Interface
      17. In Summary
    6. Step-by-Step
      1. The Data View and the Layout View
      2. Controlling Your View of the Map: Zooming
      3. Understanding the Panning and Other Controls
      4. Adding Other Map Elements
      5. Adding Data to Data Frames
      6. A Summary of the Graphic Indicators
      7. Tinkering with the Map—Scale Bars
      8. Legends
      9. Layer Files
      10. Layer Packages
      11. Styles
      12. Adding and Using a Style
      13. Reports
      14. Charts and Graphs
      15. Graphics
      16. Making Graphics out of Geographic Features
    7. Chapter 4: Structures for Storing Geographic Data
      1. Why Is Spatial Data Analysis So Hard?
      2. How the Computer Aids Analyzing Spatial Data
      3. Complexity of Spatial Data
      4. Structures for Spatial Data
      5. Storage Paradigms for Areal Data
      6. Fundamental Bases of Geographic Data Mode
      7. The Raster Data Model
      8. Vector Data Model
      9. A Multiplicity of “Storadigms”
      10. Vector-Based Geographic Datasets—Logical Construction
      11. Zero-Dimensional Entities in a Two-Dimensional Field: Points
      12. One-Dimensional Entities in a Two-Dimensional Field: Lines
      13. Two-Dimensional Entities in a Two-Dimensional Field: Polygons
      14. Three-Dimensional Entities in a Three-Dimensional Field: Triangles and Multipatches
      15. Specific Esri Spatial Vector Data Storage Mechanisms
      16. The Geodatabase Data Structure
      17. Geodatabase Software
      18. Polygons within Polygons—Perimeter and Area Calculations
      19. Geodatabases—Layout in the Computer
      20. Geodatabases—Logical Construction
      21. Geodatabases—Feature Shape
      22. Nested Polygons in Geodatabases
      23. Geodatabases and Attributes
      24. Objects—First Acquaintance
      25. The Shapefile Data Structure
      26. Shapefiles—Layout in the Computer
      27. Summarizing Vector Dataset Features
      28. Summary of Logical Structures of Vector-Based GIS Datasets
      29. Raster-Based Geographic Data Sets—Logical Construction
      30. Raster-Based Geographic Data Sets—Layout in the Computer
      31. TINs
      32. TIN-Based Geographic Data Sets—Layout in the Computer
      33. Spatial Reference
    8. Step-by-Step
      1. More Help
      2. Specification of your Input Text File for the “Create Features from Text File” Tool
      3. Labeling Features
      4. Making Polygons from Lines
      5. Areas and Perimeters Examined
      6. Labeling Features with Selected Attributes
      7. Computers and Inexact Computation
      8. Creating a New Topology
      9. Specifying Which Feature Moves When Features Are Adjusted: Rank
      10. Topology Rules
      11. Validating Topology
      12. A Warning: Changes Made through Topology Are Permanent
    9. Chapter 5: Geographic and Attribute Data: Selection, Input, and Editing
      1. Concerns about Finding and Collecting Data
      2. Looking for Data on the Internet
      3. Steps in Developing the Database
      4. GPS and GIS
      5. Anatomy of the Acronym: GPS
      6. What Time Is It?
    10. Step-by-Step
      1. Looking at Reference Systems
      2. Looking at Coordinate Systems
      3. Using the Reference System to Discover the Boundary Coordinates of a State Plane Zone
      4. Primary Lesson
      5. A Plan for Digitizing and Transforming
      6. Getting Started
      7. Loading an Image File as a Layer in ArcMap
      8. Loading the New, Blank Shapefile into ArcMap
      9. Adding Line Features to a Shapefile by Using the Editing Facility in ArcMap
      10. Converting a Shapefile to a Geodatabse Feature Class and Giving It Real-World Coordinates
      11. Converting the Shapefile to a Geodatabase Feature Class
      12. Moving the Foozit Court Feature Class into the Real World
      13. Preliminaries
      14. Making the Feature Class That Will Be the Object of the Digitization
      15. Georeferencing
      16. Moving the Sketch to UTM Zone
      17. Digitizing the Line Boundaries of the Islands
      18. Making Polygons of the Digitized Lines
      19. Making Multipart Polygons
      20. Five islands divided by county and agency
      21. Merging Multipart Polygons
      22. Making Copies of the Feature Class
      23. Using “Clip” to Remove Overlaps from the Feature Class
      24. Using Topology to Remove Overlaps from the Feature Class
      25. The Concept of the Edit Sketch
      26. Making Sketches with Snapping
      27. Experimenting with Editing Polygons
      28. Experimenting with Editor’s Union
      29. Experimenting with the Editor’s Intersect
      30. Experimenting with the Editor’s Buffer Capabilities
      31. Using Undo, Redo, Copy, and Cut
      32. Working with Line Editing Again
      33. Creating a 3-D Feature
      34. Organization
      35. Environment and Measurement (Spatial Data)
      36. Measurements (Non-spatial Data)
      37. Recording Data
      38. Team Assignments
      39. Undertaking the Data Entry Process
      40. Making a Table That Contains the Coordinate Data
      41. Making a Table That Contains the Student Data
      42. Populating the Student_Info Table with Data
      43. Joining the Two Tables to Make a Single Table
      44. Seeing the Results of the Join
  11. Part II: Spatial Analysis and Synthesis with Gis
    1. Chapter 6: Analysis of GIS Data by Simple Examination
      1. Information
      2. Computer Hardware—What a Computer Does
      3. Continuous and Discrete Phenomena
      4. Some Implications of Discrete Representation for GIS
      5. Scientific Notation, Numerical Significance, Accuracy, and Precision
      6. Precision vs. Accuracy
      7. Basic Statistics
      8. Putting Values into Classes
      9. Measurement Scales
    2. Step-by-Step
      1. Examining the Toolbars
      2. Pointing at Records
      3. Two Windows Are Available for Selecting
      4. Selecting Records (and, Thereby, Features)
      5. Looking at the Other Capabilities of the Options Menu
      6. Selecting Features (and, Thereby, Records)
      7. Quick Selection of Features
      8. Selecting by Location
      9. Reviewing and Understanding Actions on the Table of Contents
      10. Layers and the Data Frames
      11. Changing Layer Properties
      12. Thinking about Maps Again
      13. Classification (or Categorization) and Symbolization
      14. User Selection of Classes
      15. A More Careful Look at Equal Intervals
      16. Defined Interval
      17. Quantiles
      18. Standard Deviation
      19. Natural Breaks
      20. Normalization
      21. Using Charts and Graphs
      22. Making a Layout
      23. Obtaining Data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census
      24. Converting the Census Data Spreadsheet to dBASEIV Format
      25. Using TIGER-Based Street and Block Shapefiles from Esri
      26. Assessing What We Have and What We Need to Solve the Problem
      27. Converting the Relevant Files to Cartesian Coordinates
      28. Finally
    3. Chapter 7: Creating Spatial Feature Classes Based on Proximity, Overlay, and Attributes
      1. Generating Features Based on Proximity: Buffering
      2. Generating Features by Overlaying
      3. Overlaying with Line and Point Feature Classes
      4. Spatial Joins in General
      5. Deriving Feature Classes by Selecting Attributes: Extraction
    4. Step-by-Step
      1. Using ArcToolbox to Make Buffer Zones around the Roads
      2. Variable-Width Buffers
      3. Make a New Feature Class from a Subset of Polygons: Extract
      4. More Complex Queries—And’s and Or’s
      5. Other Polygon Spatial Joins: Intersect and Identity
      6. The Getrich Saga
      7. Deriving Information by Combining Tables
      8. Overlaying the Feature Classes
      9. Create a Python Script from the Gold Model
      10. Modify the Python Script from the Gold Model
      11. Execute the Python Script
      12. Understanding Dissolve
      13. Making New Sites that Including the COST_HA Field
      14. Considering the Site Eccentricity Criterion
      15. Making a Model of the Wildcat Boat Solution
    5. Chapter 8: Spatial Analysis Based on Raster Data Processing
      1. A Really Different Processing Paradigm
      2. Facts about Rasters
      3. Coordinate Space
      4. Rasters with Integer Cell Values
      5. Rasters with Floating-Point Values
      6. What Is Raster Storage and Processing Good For?
      7. Rasters and Features
      8. Rasters: Input, Computation, and Output
      9. Where Raster Processing Shines: Cost Incurred Traveling over a Distance
      10. Proximity Calculation with Rasters
      11. Human Activity, Cost, and Distance
      12. Euclidean Distances on the Raster
      13. Euclidean Distance and the Spatial Analyst
      14. Proving Pythagoras Right
      15. Finding the Closest of Multiple Source Cells
      16. Excluding Distances beyond a Certain Threshold
      17. Other Factors That Influence Cost
      18. The Cost Distance Mechanism
      19. The Cost Distance Calculation
      20. Path Calculation in Euclidean Distance and Cost Distance
      21. Understanding How Total Costs Are Calculated
      22. Getting More Information: Paths and Allocations
      23. Direction and Allocation Rasters for Euclidean Distance
      24. Direction and Allocation Rasters for Cost Distance
      25. A Major Application of Raster Processing: Hydrology
      26. Basic Surface Hydrology
      27. Basic Surface Hydrology Concepts
      28. Calculating Flow Direction
      29. The Ultimate Destination of Water Is Off the Raster Area
      30. Flow Accumulation: Drainage Delineation and Rainfall Volume
      31. Nonuniform Rainfall
      32. Calculating the Length of a Potential Linear Water Body
      33. Assigning Identities to Streams
      34. Vector vs. Raster Representation
      35. Assigning Orders to Stream Links
      36. Watersheds and Pour Points
    6. Step-by-Step
      1. The Raster Calculator—Integer Rasters
      2. Arithmetic Calculation
      3. Boolean Operations
      4. Floating-Point Rasters
      5. Setting the General and Raster Environment
      6. Converting Features to Rasters
      7. Creating Rasters with Linear Features
      8. Buffering with Spatial Analyst (Maybe)
      9. Buffering—Plan B
      10. Reclassifying the Data
      11. Adding the Rasters with the Raster Calculator
      12. Converting Zones to Regions to Find Individual Sites
      13. Points and Density
      14. Thiessen, Dirichlet, Voronoi (and, of course, Decartes)
      15. Making a Raster Showing Straight-Line Distances to a Single Place
      16. Examining Many Source Cells and the Capping Distance
      17. Developing a Raster with Cost Distance
      18. Creating Direction and Allocation Rasters
      19. Using Cost Distance to Make Direction and Allocation Rasters
      20. Calculating a Least-Cost Path from “A” to “B”
      21. Setting Things Up
      22. Preparing to Create a Cost Surface
      23. Building a Cost Surface
      24. Improving the Understandability of the Map
      25. Examining the Surface with Various Spatial Analyst and 3D Tools
      26. Determining the Stream Channels
      27. Calculating Stream Order
      28. Numbering Each Stream Individually
      29. Identifying Basins
      30. Finding Pollution Culprits
    7. Chapter 9: Other Dimensions, Other Tools, Other Solutions
      1. Two Different Third Dimensions: The Temporal and the Vertical Spatial
    8. The Third Spatial Dimension
      1. 3-D: 2-D (Spatial) Plus 1-D (Spatial)
      2. ArcScene
      3. ArcGlobe
    9. The Third Spatial Dimension
      1. An (Almost) New Software Package: ArcScene
      2. ArcScene
      3. What’s 3-D and What’s Not
      4. Viewing 3-D Data with Animation
      5. Making a TIN and Other 3-D Representations of Elevation
      6. Creating DEM files with Kriging
      7. Creating a Map of Contour Lines
      8. Two-and-a-Half Dimensions (2.5-D): Calculating Volumes
      9. Calculating a Volume with ArcGIS
      10. Other Neat Stuff You Can Do with 3D Analyst: Viewshed and Hillshade
      11. A Closer Look at ArcGlobe and Adding Data to It
      12. Making a Terrain
    10. The Time Dimension: OVERVIEW
      1. 3-D: 2-D (Spatial) Plus 1-D (Temporal)
    11. The Time Dimension: STEP-BY-STEP
      1. Sliding through Time—Seeing Changes in Features at Intervals
    12. Address Geocoding: OVERVIEW
      1. A Second Fundamental Way of Defining Location
      2. TIGER/Line Files
      3. Precision of the Geographic Coordinates in TIGER Files
      4. Address Locators
    13. Address Geocoding: STEP-BY-STEP
      1. Finding the Geographic Position of an Address “Manually”
      2. Making an Address Locator
      3. Finding the Geographic Position of an Address “Automatically”
      4. TIGER Files and ZIP Codes
      5. More to Know—More Information Available
    14. Analysis of Networks: Overview
    15. Analysis of Networks: Step-by-step
      1. Finding the Shortest Route to a Facility
      2. Allocating Territories to Facilities
    16. Linear Referencing: Overview
    17. Linear Referencing: STEP-BY-STEP
      1. Intersecting Route Events
      2. What’s Not Covered Here
  12. Afterword: From Systems to Science by Michael Goodchild
  13. Index
  14. Notes
  15. Download CD/DVD Content

Product information

  • Title: Introducing Geographic Information Systems with ArcGIS: A Workbook Approach to Learning GIS, 3rd Edition
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: April 2013
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781118159804