Database management system
Also called: DBMS · Topic: Remote Sensing, GIS and GNSS · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Spatial Information Technology"
Meaning
A database management system (DBMS) is software that organises, stores, finds and processes data kept in tables of rows and columns. It is good at sorting and searching records. On its own it does not know where things are, so it cannot do spatial analysis. Inside a GIS, the DBMS manages the attribute data (descriptive details) that is linked to each map feature.
Example
A table of literacy rates for each Indian state is handled by a DBMS. When it is joined to state boundaries in a GIS, the same table can be shown as a literacy map.
Don't confuse with
- GIS: it links the tables to locations on the earth and can analyse them on a map. A DBMS only handles the tables.
Related concepts
- Computer assisted cartography
- Spatial information technology
- Geographic information system
- Spatial data
- Attribute data
- Point, line and area features
- Advantages of GIS over manual maps
- Components of GIS