By Shahabuddin Amerudin
The article “GIS Software’s Changing Roles” by Berry (1998) discusses the changing roles of GIS software over the past few decades. In the 70s, GIS software development primarily occurred on campuses and was limited to academia, with products relegated to library shelves of theses. The article argues that this was because of the necessity of building a viable tool before it could be taken on the road to practical solutions. As such, early GIS software development focused on technology itself rather than its applications.
In the 1980s, however, modern computers emerged, bringing with them the hardware and software environments needed by GIS. The research-oriented software gave way to operational systems, and the suite of basic features of a modern GIS became available. Software development switched from specialized programs to extensive “toolboxes” and subsequently spawned a new breed of software specialists.
From an application developer’s perspective, this opened floodgates. From an end user’s perspective, however, a key element still was missing: the gigabytes of data demanded by practical applications. Once again, GIS applications were frustrated. This time, it wasn’t the programming environment as much as it was the lagging investment in the conversion from paper maps to their digital form.
Another less obvious impediment hindered progress. Large GIS shops established to collect, nurture, and process spatial data intimidated their potential customers. The required professional sacrifice at the GIS altar kept the herds of dormant users away. GIS was more often seen within an organization as an adversary competing for corporate support than as a new and powerful capability one could use to improve workflow and address complex issues in entirely new ways.
The 1990s saw both the data logjam burst and the GIS mystique erode. As Windows-based mapping packages appeared on individuals’ desks, awareness of the importance of spatial data and its potential applications flourished. Direct electronic access enabled users to visualize their data without a GIS expert as a co-pilot. For many, the thrill of “visualizing mapped data” rivaled that of their first weekend with the car after the learner’s permit.
So where are we now? Has the role of GIS developers been extinguished, or merely evolved once again? Like a Power Rangers transformer, software development has taken two forms that blend the 1970s and 80s roles. These states are the direct result of changes in software programming approaches in general and “object-oriented” programming in particular.
MapInfo’s MapX and ESRI’s MapObjects are tangible GIS examples of this new era. These packages are functional libraries that contain individual map processing operations. In many ways, they are similar to their GIS toolbox predecessors, except they conform to general programming standards of interoperability, thereby enabling them to be linked easily to the wealth of non-GIS programs.
Like using a Lego set, application developers can apply the “building blocks” to construct specific solutions, such as a real estate application that integrates a multiple listing geo-query with a pinch of spatial analysis, a dab of spreadsheet simulation, a splash of chart plotting, and a sprinkle of report generation. In this instance, GIS functionality simply becomes one of the ingredients of a solution, not the entire recipe.
Overall, the article suggests that GIS software has come a long way since its early days in the 70s. Although software development primarily occurred on campuses in the past, modern computers have brought the hardware and software environments needed by GIS. Software development has switched from specialized programs to extensive “toolboxes” and subsequently spawned a new breed of software specialists. However, a key challenge for GIS software has been the lack of gigabytes of data demanded by practical applications. Additionally, the large GIS shops established to collect, nurture, and process spatial data have intimidated potential customers. But with the rise of Windows-based mapping packages, awareness of the importance of spatial data and its potential applications has flourished.
Reference:
Berry, J.K. (1998). GIS Software’s Changing Roles. GeoWorld [Online] Available at: http://www.innovativegis.com/basis/mapanalysis/MA_Intro/MA_Intro.htm (Accessed: 27 March 2023).
A copy of the article: https://people.utm.my/shahabuddin/?p=6136
Suggestion for Citation: Amerudin, S. (2023). GIS Software’s Changing Roles: A Review. [Online] Available at: https://people.utm.my/shahabuddin/?p=6138 (Accessed: 27 March 2023).
