Chapter 1. GIS Fundamentals

In this chapter, you will learn the foundation of geographical information system and spatial data. Although you do not need to understand these subjects in great depth to take advantage of the features of GeoServer, we will give you the basic information required to understand what you will be doing in the book. You will be introduced to the magic of spatial.

We are going to cover the following topics:

• Why is spatial data special?

• Spatial data formats.

• The magical world of Spatial Reference System (SRS): getting a sphere on a plane.

• What is a map and why does it matter?

• The art of Cartography. Building map types such as Choropleth and Proportional Symbol.

By the end of the chapter, you will have the basic skills to identify which spatial data format best suits your needs.