Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems

By Michael N. DeMers

Book Overview

Locate your place in the exciting field of GIS

In existence since 1962, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are really coming into their own today. And not just in your car's GPS system or your cell phone's tracking capabilities. GIS is finding applications throughout science, government, business, and industry, from regional and community planning, architecture, and transportation to public health, crime mapping, and national defense.

Michael DeMers's Fundamentals of Geographic Information, Fourth Edition brings an already essential text up to date, capturing the significant developments in the field and responding to the needs of a diverse set of readers, from geographers to students in a host of other fields.

If you are a non-geographer or new to GIS, get a quick introduction to the "lay of the land" of GIS through the new "Spatial Learner's Permit" section. Then join in the excitement of discovery with GIS databases as you absorb the such concepts and skills as digital geographic data and maps, GIS data models, spatial analysis, measurement and classification, cartographic modeling, and GIS design.

Responding to both the needs and technical skills of today's students, this Fourth Edition:
* Makes concepts accessible to students from a wide range of backgrounds
* Offers more practical and relevant coverage of GIS design and implementation
* Reflects the latest changes in GIS applications
* Examines in greater depth the underlying computer science behind GIS
* Uncovers the most recent developments on GIS research
* Expands coverage of the increasingly robust literature on cartographic visualization
* Includes Web-based labs and links to current and updated dataset resources

Taking an open-ended, hands-on approach that gets you to ask your own questions about the underlying concepts, the Fourth Edition helps you not only master the basics but acquire the active problem-solving skills that are a key component of success in the GIS industry.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470129069
• ISBN13: 9780470129067
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 443 Pages
• Weight: 1.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.2" x 10.2"

Customer Reviews

A review from an undergraduate user

I was privileged to take a class from Dr. Demers, himself, using this textbook. I found it to be a great textbook, and I particularly enjoyed his sense of humor in the book, a welcome addition to what I found to be a somewhat difficult and challenging topic. He has a good understanding of the topic, and a sensitivity to the needs of students that is unparalleled. I recommend it to anyone willing to put the effort into learning a new way of looking at geography and the world.

A comprehensive and very understandable text.

This is unquestionably one of the finest GIS textbooks available today. It covers not only the basic input, data management, and reporting concepts, but includes sufficient depth of spatial analysis issues that anyone not able to take additional geographic analysis courses will come away with enough practical knowledge to truly unleash the power of geographic information systems.

Excellent, comprehensive textbook on GIS

This is book is the most comprehensive introductory textbook on GIS on the market. I highly recommend this book for any newcomer to the field or any GIS professional. It has 200 pages on spatial analysis, a rarity in intro books on the subject.

The best of the new introductory texts in GIS.

For years it has been impossible to find a balanced text for introductory courses in GIS or to recommend a readable summary to a professional who wishes an introductory overview of this important technology. This is by far the best effort so far and, in my mind, is superior to the other new book by Keith Clarke. The DeMers book is being used in our introductory GIS course at The Ohio State University. The selection decision was made by the inter- disciplinary group of faculty teaching the course.