Module 2: How GIS works

The "Geographic Information System" (GIS) or "Geo-Information System" is the central tool of geoinformatics. The terms were first used as early as the 1960s with software in Canada (Canadian Land Data System, later Canadian Geographic Information System), which aimed to visualise various data on digital maps. Since then, the common abbreviation GIS has been used for these systems in the scientific community. This term is familiar in practice and is also increasingly used in public parlance. The basic functions of a GIS are geared towards recording, processing, analysing and displaying spatial information and are primarily used to spatial analysis and planning as a tool.¹