GIS file formats

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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.

Contents

[edit] Popular GIS file formats

[edit] Raster formats

  • ADRG - NIMA's ARC Digitized Raster Graphics
  • BIL - Band Interleaved by Line (image format linked with satellite derived imagery)
  • CADRG - NIMA's Compressed ARC Digitised Raster Graphics (nominal compression of 55:1 over ADRG)
  • CIB - NIMA's Controlled Image Base (type of Raster Product Format)
  • DRG - digital scan of a paper USGS topographic map
  • ECW - Enhanced Compressed Wavelet (from ERMapper). A compressed wavelet format, often lossy.
  • GeoTIFF - TIFF variant enriched with GIS relevant metadata
  • IMG - ERDAS IMAGINE image file format
  • MrSID - Multi-Resolution Seamless Image Database (by Lizardtech). A compressed wavelet format, often lossy.

[edit] Vector formats

  • DXF - Contour elevation plots in AutoCAD DXF format
  • SHP - ESRI's open, hybrid vector data format using SHP, SHX and DBF files
  • Simple Features - Open Geospatial Consortium specification for vector data
  • TAB - MapInfo's vector data format using TAB, DAT, ID and MAP files
  • NTF - National Transfer Format (mostly used by the UK Ordnance Survey)
  • TIGER - Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing
  • XYZ - Simple point cloud
  • VPF - NIMA's Vector Product Format - the format of vectored data for large geographic databases.
  • Personal Geodatabase - ESRI's closed, integrated vector data storage strategy using Microsoft's Access MDB format
  • Coverage - ESRI's closed, hybrid vector data storage strategy. Legacy ArcGIS Workstation / ArcInfo format with reduced support in ArcGIS Desktop lineup

[edit] Grid formats (for elevation)

  • DEM - The USGS' Digital Elevation Model
  • DTED - NIMA's Digital Terrain Elevation Data
  • GTOPO30 - Large complete Earth elevation model at 30 arc seconds
  • SDTS - The USGS' successor to DEM

[edit] Other formats

  • ASC - Simple ASCII text based formats
  • BT - The Virtual Terrain Project's Binary Terrain format
  • WKT – Well-known text for describing a spatial projection (ESRI uses a *.prj extension)

[edit] See also

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