A geographic information system (GIS) is a purposeful collection of hardware, software, and skilled personnel enabling the capture, storage, analysis, management, display, and distribution of data and related descriptive information that is spatially referenced to the Earth.
GIS entails the superposition of many data layers (e.g., vector or raster-based data models, or imagery), each representing a different way of understanding the complexities of the same geographic space in the “real world.” In supporting users to ask questions about the “why of where”, GIS leverages the fundamental principle of geography – that location matters. Its ability to manage, correlate, predict, model and share geographic information makes GIS an essential and highly versatile analytical tool.
In contrast with GIS(ystems), GIScience (often “GISc”) refers to the multidisciplinary science concerned with the fundamental questions raised by the use of GIS, including those of geographic representation, human cognition thereof, spatial data models and structures, and the nature of geographic analytical tools.
For a more extensive introduction, see the related Wikipedia page.
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