Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are a computer-assisted system that consists of geographical data, software and hardware. ESRI said, "A GIS is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing things that exist and events that happen on earth. GIS technology integrates common database operations such as query and statistical analysis with the unique visualization and geographic analysis benefits offered by maps." GIS is used by many in day to day life and has uncountable uses.
             The main uses of GIS are to map where things are, map quantities, map density, map what's inside, map nearby and to map change. Mapping features allows you to find places you are looking for and to take appropriate action. Mapping quantities allows you to see where the most or least of something is and to see relations between two locations. On regular maps it might be hard to tell the density of an area. Using a GIS program would allow you to tell the exact density of a certain parcel of land. You can use GIS to monitor what's happening inside a specific area, one example would be to track crime rates in a neighborhood.
             One of the uses of GIS is to locate optimal real estate locations for a business. They can find the most effective place to meet the customer demand. This is done by analyzing the spatial and attribute data. Spatial data is in some way referenced to locations on the earth. Any additional information is attribute data. Combining these two types of data is what makes GIS a very effective problem solving tool. GIS is also used by fire and police departments, companies that deliver goods and consumers to find the directions to a place they need to go.
             Data collection is the first process in GIS. The data is collected in the form of images and numbers, digitized and stored in databases. The images are stored as maps and the data from the databases is processed and filtered to remove errors. Next,
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