In practical GIS applications, a lot of software are required for input, manipulation, processing, analysis and output of spatial data, both in vector and raster format.
The following functions are required for rather wide GIS applications (see Table 5.1)
Operating System (OS)
Unix for workstation, MS-DOS
WINDOWS for PC
Data Input
Map digitizing and editing for vector based GIS
Map/Photo scanning for raster based GIS
Color separation
Database Management
Relational database software
Database integrator for data exchange through network
Image Proceessing
Image Enhancement
Color Manipulation
Classification
Image Analysis/Measurement
Mathematical Morphology
Mapping System/Data Output
Map Projection
Graphic Representation
Cartographic Output
Vector raster conversion
Raster Data Analysis
Table 5.1 shows a comparison between two major GIS softwares ; MGE of Intergragh and ARC/INFO of ESRI.