A geographic information system (GIS), or geographical information system, captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents data that is linked to location. Technically, GIS is geographic information systems which includes mapping software and its application with remote sensing, land surveying, aerial photography, mathematics, photogrammetry, geography, and tools that can be implemented with GIS software. Still, many refer to “geographic information system” as GIS even though it doesn’t cover all tools connected to topology.
In the strictest sense, the term describes any information system that integrates, stores, edits, analyzes, shares, and displays geographic information. In a more generic sense, GIS applications are tools that allow users to create interactive queries (user created searches), analyze spatial information, edit data, maps, and present the results of all these operations. Geographic Information Science is the science underlying the geographic concepts, applications and systems, taught in degree and GIS Certificate programs at many universities.