history of gis - beep · history of gis – unit 23 ... cartogram, map with shadings from black to...

Politecnico di Milano - Polo Territoriale di Como

Prof. Maria Antonia Brovelli

History of GIS

Maria Antonia Brovelli

Milestones in the History of Thematic Cartography, Statistical Graphics and Data Visualization - http://datavis.ca/milestones/index.php?page=introduction

the notebook of cartographer

http://indiemaps.com/blog/2009/11/the-first-thematic-maps/

History of GIS – unit 23 http://www.geog.ubc.ca/courses/klink/gis.notes/ncgia/u23.html

The American Cartographer Vol 15(3), 1988

Open source GIS history

http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Open_Source_GIS_History

ESRI company history http://www.esri.com/company/about/history.html

References

http://datavis.ca/milestones/index.php?page=introduction








http://www.geog.ubc.ca/courses/klink/gis.notes/ncgia/u23.html




http://www.esri.com/company/about/history.html



•19031637 - Coordinate systems, mathematics, analytic geometry were reintroduced; relationship established between graphed

line and equation - Pierre de Fermat (1601-1665) and René Descartes (1596-1650), France.

Base maps


• maps of the Battle of Yorktown (American

Revolution - 1781) drawn by the French Cartographer

Louis-Alexandre Berthier contained hinged overlays to show troop movements

Overlays – Geographic Analysis


Geographic Analysis

•the mid-19th Century "Atlas to Accompany the

Second Report of the Irish Railway Commissioners"

showed population, traffic flow, geology and topography superimposed on the same base map

Flow map: traffic between Irish cities (by Henry Drury Harness)


1819

Cartogram, map with shadings from black to white

(distribution and intensity of illiteracy in France), the first choropleth map, and perhaps the first modern statistical

map (Pierre Charles Dupin, France).

A choropleth map is a thematic map in which areas are shaded or patterned in proportion to the measurement of the statistical variable being displayed on the map Carte figurative de l’instruction populaire de la France

Choropleth maps


1855

Use of a dot

map to display epidemiological data, leads to discovery

of the source of a cholera

epidemic- John Snow (1813-1858 ),

England.

Dot maps


1868

Used by É. Levasseur in his economical books.

Cartogram

squares proportional to

the extent of surfaces,

population, budget,

commerce, merchant

marine of the countries

of Europe, the squares

being grouped about

each other in such a

manner as to

correspond to their

geographical position

(G.Funkhouser,1937)


1884

Pictogram, used to represent data by icons proportional to a number- Michael George Mulhall (1836-1900),

England.

Pictogram


1623

The first known adding machine, a mechanical calculator called the ``Calculating Clock.'' It could add and

subtract up to six-digit numbers, based on the movement of six dented wheels geared through a "mutilated" wheel which with every full turn allowed the wheel located at the right

to rotate 1/10th of a full turn - Wilhelm Schickard (1592-1635), Tubingen, Germany.

Computer science


1884

Invention of the punched card for use in a machine to

tabulate the USA Census (in 1890: 65 million of people in 1 month). Hollerith's company eventually became IBM - Herman Hollerith (1860-1929), USA.

Punched card: a piece of stiff paper that contains digital

information represented by the presence or absence of holes in

predefined positions.


1944

Harvard's Mark I, the first digital

computer, put in service. Officially known as the ``IBM Automatic Sequence

Controlled Calculator'' (ASCC), the Mark I was more than 15 meters long and weighed about 5 tons.- Howard H. Aiken

(1900-1973) and Grace Hopper (1906-1992), USA.

1939

Description of a MEMEX, an associative information retrieval

system which would help someone find information based in association and context rather than strict categorical indexing; conceptual creation of ``hyperlink'' and the ''World Wide Web''- Vannevar Bush (1890-1974), USA.


Were developed in the 1950s and 1960s, primarily in the public sector.

University of Washington, Department of Geography, research on advanced statistical methods, rudimentary computer programming, computer cartography:

• Nystuen - fundamental spatial concepts - distance, orientation, connectivity

• Tobler - computer algorithms for map projections, computer cartography

• Bunge - theoretical geography - geometric basis for geography - points, lines and areas

• Berry's Geographical Matrix: organization of geographic data along three “axes”: spatial (geographic), temporal (historic), thematic

(attribute) (where-when-what)

US Geographic Information Systems


Canada Geographic Information System

Roger Tomlinson

Canada Geographic Information System is an example of one of the earliest GISs developed, started from 1963 (still operating:)

Purpose:

➔ to analyze the data collected by the Canada Land Inventory (CLI)

➔ to produce statistics to be used in developing land management plans


The CLI created maps which classify land using various themes:

• soil capability for agriculture

• recreation capability

• capability for wildlife (ungulates) (waterfowl)

• forestry capability

• present land use

• shoreline

were developed at map scales of 1:50,000

use a simple rating scheme:

1 (best) to 7 (poorest), with detailed qualification codes

Perception was that computers could perform analyses once the data had been input


CGIS required the development of new technology

● no previous experience in how to structure data internally

● no precedent for GIS operations of overlay and area measurement

● experimental scanner had to be built for map input

Key idea 1. use of SCANNING for input of high density area objects

(maps had to be redrafted (scribed) for scanning)

2. VECTORISATION of scanned images

3. geographical partitioning of data into "map sheets" or "TILES" but with EDGEMATCHING across tile boundaries

4. partitioning of data into themes or LAYERS


5. use of ABSOLUTE SYSTEM of coordinates for entire country with precision adjustable to resolution of data (the number of digits of precision can be set by the system manager and changed from layer to layer)

6. internal representation of line objects as chains of incremental moves in 4/8 compass directions rather than straight lines between points (FREEMAN CHAIN CODE)


9. separation of data into attribute and locational files "descriptor dataset" (DDS) and

"image dataset" (IDS)

7. coding of area object boundaries by ARC, with pointers to left and right area objects

8. first "TOPOLOGICAL" SYSTEM with planar enforcement in each layer, relationships between arcs and areas coded in the

database

The IDS (Imagery Data Set) consisted of

text and numeric symbols and contained

the information to construct a map;

the DDS (Descriptor Data Set) consisted

of text and numeric symbols that

represented descriptive data elements for

each geographic entity.


10. implementation of functions for POLYGON OVERLAY,

measurement of AREA, user-defined circles and polygons for QUERY


mid 1960s

Initial development of geographic information systems, combining spatially-referenced data, spatial models and map-based visualization.

1964

Harvard Laboratory for Computer Graphics (and Spatial Analysis) was established by Howard Fisher. This lab had major influence on the development of GIS until early 1980s. Many pioneers of newer GIS "grew up" at the Harvard lab.

Some stories:

Tom Poiker, Nick Chrisman, Bruce Rowland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_D3eRMJieY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k0N4E8ZrGg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNAJ0qUQuYM&feature=related




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k0N4E8ZrGg&feature=related





22

1965

The development of the GBF-DIME files by the U.S. Census Bureau marked the large-scale adoption of

digital mapping by the U.S. government. This system led to the production of the Census TIGER files, one of the most important socioeconomic spatial data sets in use today. (Topologically Integrated

Geographic Encoding and Referencing system )


1966

Howard Fisher developed SYMAP (Synagraphic Mapping System) a general-purpose mapping package, producing isoline, choropleth and proximal maps on a line printer. It was characterized by

poor resolution and limited functionality, but is was also simple to use. It represented a way for the non-cartographer to make maps and it was a first real demonstration of ability of computers to make maps.

late 1960s

CALFORM was developed. It is an improvement of SYMAP:

• SYMAP on a plotter

• user avoided double-coding of internal boundaries by inputting a table of point locations, plus a set of polygons defined by sequences of point IDs

• more cosmetic than SYMAP - North arrows, better legends


SYMAP


late 1960s

SYMVU was developed:

• 3D perspective views of SYMAP output

• first new form of display of spatial data to

come out of a computer

GRID was developed:

• raster cells could be displayed using the same output techniques as SYMAP

• developed to allow multiple input layers of

raster cells; beginnings of raster GIS

• used to implement the ideas of overlay (1969: Ian McHarg in his book "Design with Nature", popularized the use of georeferenced transparent map overlays for

resource planning purposes)

SYMVU, GRID


1969

Data formats begin to emerge and private vendors began offering GIS packages:

Environmental Science Research Institute (ESRI) is founded by Jack and Laura Dangermond as a privately held consulting group. The business began with $1100 from their personal savings and operated out of an historic home located in Redlands, California.

Jim Meadlock establishes Intergraph Corporation (originally called M & S Computing Inc).

ESRI, INTERGRAPH


early 1970s

POLYVRT

● various alternative ways of forming area objects

● motivated by need of computer mapping packages for flexible input, transfer of boundary files between systems, growing supply of data in digital form, e.g. from Bureau of the Census

mid 1970s

ODYSSEY

● extended POLYVRT idea beyond format conversion to a comprehensive analysis package based on vector data

● first robust, efficient algorithm for polygon overlay - included sliver removal

POLYVRT, ODYSSEY


1971

The Canada Geographic Information System (CGIS) becomes fully operational.

General Information System for Planning (GISP) is developed by the US Department of the Environment.

Maryland Automatic Geographic Information (MAGI), one of the first statewide GIS projects begins in US.

1974

The first AUTOCARTO (International Symposium on Computer Assisted Cartography) conference is held in Reston (Virginia).


1976

Minnesota Land Management Information System (MLMIS), another significant state-wide GIS, begins as a research project at the Centre for Urban and Regional Analysis, University of Minnesota.

1977

The USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) develops the Digital Line Graph (DLG) spatial data format.

1978

ESRI develops the first version of Arc/Info, the current leading

GIS software package.

ERDAS is founded.


the 1980s

Second GIS phase: the GIS was pushed to evolve towards analysis.

• In this stage more functions for USER INTERACTION were developed mainly in a graphical way by a user friendly interface (GUI, Graphical User Interface).

• It gave to the user the ability to sort, select, extract, reclassify, re-project and display data on the basis of complex geographical, topological and statistical criteria.

• The suppliers increased their knowledge on existing and growing data analyses techniques, specific subject matters (e.g.: ecology and hydrology), and data context issues. While data storage were still mainly centralized the user’s access became more decentralized.


1982

ESRI's ARC/INFO® 1.0, the first commercially available GIS

software package, which ran on mainframe computers

was released.

Army Corps of Engineers at the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) started the development of the

GIS GRASS – Geographic Resources Analysis Support System – as a raster based GIS programme for land management at military installations

For GRASS history see:

http://grass.osgeo.org/devel/grasshist.html











1987

The International Journal of Geographical Information Analysis gets published.

Tydac releases SPANS GIS.

Ron Eastman starts the IDRISI Project at Clark University

1986

MapInfo is founded.

ESRI's PC ARC/INFO® 1.0, the first GIS software available for the personal computer, was released.


1988

First public release of the US bureau of Census „TIGER‟ (Topographically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing) digital data products.

Founded as GIS World, the monthly magazine „GEO World‟, the world‟s first magazine for geographic technology gets published.

The National Centre for Geographic Information and Analysis

(NCGIA, http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/) is established in the USA.

1989

Intergraph launches MGE (Modular GIS Environment).

The desktop image processing software, „ER Mapper‟ is launched.


1992

ESRI released ArcView® 1.0, a desktop mapping system with a graphical user interface that marked a major improvement in usability over Arc/Info‟s command-line interface

(http://www.esri.com/company/about/history.html ).

the 1990s

Starting from the 1990s GIS entered in a new era. As computing power increased and hardware prices plummeted, the GIS became a viable technology for state and municipal planning. In this third phase of evolution GIS is asked to become a real Management Information System (MIS), and thus able to support decision making processes.












1993

Steve Putz developed PARC, the first Web-based interactive map Viewer.

(http://www2.parc.com/istl/projects/www94/mapviewer.html )

The European Umbrella Organization for Geographic Information (EUROGI) is established in Europe.

1994

The Open GIS Consortium aiming at developing publicly available geo-processing specifications was founded.

http://www.opengeospatial.org/

http://www2.parc.com/istl/projects/www94/mapviewer.html















The Xerox PARC internet viewer

Create maps like this one of the world at the Xerox PARC Map Viewer

http://www.mat.univie.ac.at/~neum/contrib/usa.jpg










1994

National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) is formed in US by an executive order of President Bill Clinton.

1995

National Geographic Data Framework (NGDF) established in UK.

ESRI released Spatial Database Engine (SDE®), an innovative

tool for storing and managing GIS data in a commercially available database management system (DBMS).


1997

The University of Minnesota (UMN) released MapServer 1.0, an open source development environment for building spatially-enabled Internet applications

(http://mapserver.org/ )

(For MapServer history see

http://trac.osgeo.org/mapserver/wiki/MapServerHistory)

ESRI released ArcView Internet Map Server (IMS), a commercial tool for publishing GIS data over the Internet.

1998

GDAL/OGR (libraries for library for reading and writing raster/vector geospatial data formats) development started.

http://mapserver.org/






http://trac.osgeo.org/mapserver/wiki/MapServerHistory








1999

GRASS 5.0 is released under GNU GPL by the GRASS Development Team (http://grass.itc.it/ ). The first major change in years, this version incorporates floating point calculations and NULL support into GRASS raster engine.

2001

Refraction Research released PostGIS 0.1, an open source "spatially enabler“ adding support for geographic objects to the PostgreSQL, object relational database.

(http://postgis.refractions.net/ )

GeoNetwork opensource, a web catalog application to manage spatially referenced resources, started.

(http://geonetwork-opensource.org/)

http://grass.itc.it/







http://postgis.refractions.net/







http://geonetwork-opensource.org/




2002

ESRI began offering a wide selection of GIS software compatible with the Linux operating system. ArcIMS 4, ArcSDE 8.2, MapObjects--Java Standard Edition, and ArcExplorer 4 software are all supported on Linux.

QuantumGIS was started (http://www.osgeo.org/qgis )

2003

gvSIG was started (http://www.gvsig.org/web/ )

2005

GRASS 6.0.0 is released with new interface, vector engine, and database support.

http://www.osgeo.org/qgis

http://www.gvsig.org/web/


the 2000s

Smart Objects

Wireless Technology

Field Data Collection

Spatial Data Infrastructure

Internet (GIS Services)

Sensor web

Web 2.0

Multidimensional web


OSGeo

2006

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGEO), was

started. (www.osgeo.org )

OSGeo is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to

support and promote the collaborative development of

open geospatial technologies and data.

The foundation was formed to provide financial,

organizational and legal support to the broader open

source geospatial community.

It serves as an independent legal entity to which

community members can contribute code, funding and

other resources, secure in the knowledge that their

contributions will be maintained for public benefit.

http://www.osgeo.org/






Conferences on Free and Open Source GIS

Event Location Number

of Attendees

FOSS4G 2011 Denver, USA 914

FOSS4G 2010 Barcelona, Spain 869

FOSS4G 2009 Sydney, Australia 436

FOSS4G 2008 Cape Town, South Africa 550

FOSS4G 2007 Victoria, Canada 721

FOSS4G 2006 Lausanne, Switzerland 560

2005 OSG conference Minneapolis, MN 350

OSGIS 2004 Ottawa, Canada ~200

FOSS4G 2004 - Free/Libre and

Open Source Software for

Geoinformatics: GIS-GRASS

Users Conference

Bangkok, Thailand ~150

2003 Mapserver Users Meeting St Paul, MN, United States 125

Open Source Free Software GIS -

GRASS users conference 2002 Trento, Italy 140

FOSS4G (Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial) is the

annual recurring global event hosted by OSGeo.

http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G_2011





http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G2006

http://www.omsug.ca/osgis2004/

http://gisws.media.osaka-cu.ac.jp/grass04/



http://www.ing.unitn.it/~grass/conferences/GRASS2002/home.html

history of gis - beep · history of gis – unit 23 ... cartogram, map with shadings from black to...

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