GIS file formats
From Free net encyclopedia
A GIS file format is a standard of encoding geographical information into a file. They are created mainly by government mapping agencies (such as the USGS) or by GIS software developers.
Metadata often includes:
- Elevation data, either in raster or vector form (e.g., contours)
- Shape layers, usually expressed as line drawings, for streets, postal zone boundaries, etc.
- Coordinate system descriptions.
- One or more datums describing the precise shape of the Earth assumed by the coordinates.
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Popular GIS file formats
- ADRG - NIMA Arc Digitized Raster Graphics
- ASC - Simple ASCII text based formats
- BIL - Binary Interleave
- BT - The Virtual Terrain Project's Binary Terrain format
- CADRG - NIMA Compressed Arc Digitized Raster Graphics (nominal compression of 55:1 over ADRG)
- CIB - NIMA Controlled Image Base - kind of RPF (Raster Product Format)
- DEM (USGS) - US Geo Survey Digital Elevation Model
- DTED - NIMA Digital Terrain Elevation Data
- ESRI SHP (Shape) - Cartographic vector data with database table lookup association (using DBF and SHX files)
- GeoTIFF - TIFF variant enriched with GIS relevant metadata
- GTOPO30 - Large complete Earth elevation model
- NTF - UK Ordnance Survey
- SDTS - The USGS' successor to DEM
- Simple Features - Open Geospatial Consortium Specification for vector data
- TAB - Mapinfo Table (Associated files: .DAT, .ID, .MAP)
- UKOS DXF Contour - Contour elevation plots in DXF format
- VPF - NIMA Vector Product Format - the format of vectored data for large geographic databases.
- XYZ - Simple point cloud