Rasters are well-suited for representing continuous data across a broad area:įor example, elevation data or temperature measurements. In a raster dataset, each pixel has a value. In contrast, raster data is composed of pixels: small, uniformly-sized, grid OtherĮxamples might be roads represented by lines, or lakes by polygons. Vector data is best suited for representing discrete features:Į.g., the firestations represented by points in the example above. In a vector dataset, each point represents a value at a specific X,Y Vector data is composed of points, lines, and polygons:

May be better suited for vector data, while another similar tool works better Help you choose the right tools for the job: for example, oneĬommand-line interface for extracting metadata information about your dataset

With geospatial data, knowing the type of data you are interacting with can Geospatial data comes in two flavors: vector, and raster. Spatial data, visualized: a map of firestations in Austin, TX Vector vs. Point on this map represents one record from the data table: Using that location information, we can then create a map of our original data. Table of firestations in Austin, TX with longitude & latitude Used to represent a point on the Earth's surface (later in this tutorial we'll Latitude (or lon/lat) coordinates to the data. To turn that table of data into geospatial data, all we need to do is add Spreadsheet, this probably seems familiar: Each row represents a single record, andĮach column has a name describing its content. Let's take a look at 'regular' data, versus 'spatial' data, using a public datasetīelow is a table of data. Order to emphasize the industry-agnostic application of this type of data. Within Planet School, we most commonly use geospatial (or spatial), in Location information included: geospatial datasets connect a what to a The traditional GIS industry, the term 'GIS' has evolved to refer to anythingĪs for that: Geospatial, or just Spatial, data is simply data with Time, as the importance of location information has increased in areas outside Uses GIS tools created by a GIS developer to interact with GIS data. Infrastructure, software, data, or any mix of these things together. Information Systems, and can refer to computer systems, You might have heard the acronym GIS: GIS stands for Geographic Used both geospatial and spatial interchangably. Hear people use for more or less the same type of thing. Let's begin with some terminology: there are a lot of different terms you may

School to learn more about using geospatial data to gain insights into the Spatial data? If so, you're not alone: read on for a gentle introduction to Whether you're a data scientist, a software developer, or perhaps just aĬurious hobbyist: you may find yourself wondering what's so special about