Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are computer systems for capturing, storing, analyzing and displaying spatially-referenced data related to positions on Earth. GIS uses maps to show relationships within places and between places. It allows users to create interactive queries (user-created searches), analyze spatial information, edit data in maps, and present the results of all these operations. The key components of a GIS are types of data (spatial and non-spatial), operations, coordinate systems, and software. Common data types include raster (grid cells), vector (points, lines and polygons), and attributes (descriptive data). Compression techniques help reduce large raster file sizes. Popular open source and commercial GIS software packages and free online
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