Answer:
A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM is a computer system of hardware, sorftware and methods that are designed to capture, manage, manipulate, analyse, model and display spatial data as well as non-spatial data[attribute data]in order to solve complex planning and management problems.
WHY IS IT THERE?
The technological world has changed since the development of the computer. This made the capture, manipulation, analysis and display of data easier, faster and more accurate. It became a necessary planning and management tool. It was used to solve:
-PEOPLE
-RESOURCE USE
-CITIES
-TRANSPORT NETWORKS
-POLLUTION
-ADVANCED ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
-POLITICAL PROBLEMS
A GIS can reconstruct the real world and produce additional information that can be used to explain and predict geographical space.
GIS helps the geographer to use the geographic information stored in the computer to identify, characterize, question, analyse, explain and use the patterns and distributions of the geographic data to solve problems.
GIS has many different users:
-SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS
-ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
-TOWN PLANNING
-INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
-POPULATION RESEARCH AND PLANNING
-MARKETING
-REFERENCE PURPOSES
-DRAWING THEMATIC MAPS
-MILITARY PLANNING