For at least 3,000 years, people have prepared and used maps for a variety of reasons and in a variety of forms. Armies used maps to conquer lands; mariners prepared and used maps to sail the seas, and pirates to hide their treasures. In our present day, maps can be applied to almost every aspect of life, including engineering. Civil engineers make maps so that they may build cities, highways, bridges and other public works accurately. These are professionals whose work relates to the planning, design, construction, and management of public works and facilities, may they be for a public or private owner.
             In developing and using maps, each of these users is interested in having a precise map with respect to extent and content. However, accuracy and map content are not the same among them. Accuracy can range from the nearest $100,000, to the to the nearest 1/100th of a foot, or even to the nearest household on a district map.
             Up until a dozen years or so, map preparation was a tedious exercise, and map use was limited to but a few specialized occupations. The introduction, though, of what is now called geographic information systems or GIS for short, has revolutionized the making and increased the use of maps. The ability of the GIS technology to merge map graphics with the management of associate non-graphic data has introduced a multitude of new applications from the management of large areas of land to locating clothing in a shopping mall.
             An engineer's work is interwoven with the work of other professionals, first, by the engineer having a need for data available to these others, and second, updating that same data used by others. The integration of GIS with civil engineering would enable engineers to work in their usual environment maintaining the accuracy, line styles, and symbols of their choice, while performing their technical endeavors in surveying and engineering design of sites, land subdivision a
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