Glossary

ArcInfo

a geographic information system software product that is developed and supported by Esri.

area layer

a layer that contains the regions, such as census tracts or ZIP code zones, that are part of a map.

attribute data

values that are associated with features on a map. Attribute data is linked to map features by key variables. Attribute data can include information such as household incomes, population, sales revenue, ages, and so on.

catalog

See SAS catalog

chain

a sequence of two or more points in the coordinate space. The end points (that is, the first and last points of the chain) are called nodes.

coverage

a subset of the spatial data that is available to a map. For example, a coverage might include the spatial data for a region of a map that is contained in a spatial database.

coverage entry

a SAS catalog entry of type GISCOVER that defines the subset, or coverage, of the spatial data that is available to a map.

data set

See SAS data set

data type

an attribute of every column in a table or database. The data type tells the operating system how much physical storage to set aside for the column, and specifies what type of data the column will contain. It is similar to the type attribute of SAS variables.

data value

a unit of character, numeric, or alphanumeric information that is stored as a single item in a data record.

database management system

a software application that enables you to create and manipulate data that is stored in the form of databases. Short form: DBMS.

DBMS

See database management system

detail point

an intermediate point that delineates the interior segment of a line. Detail points are those points on a line between the from-node and the to-node.

DLG

Digital Line Graph. A data exchange format for planimetric data. DLG was developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

DXF

a data exchange format that is widely used in computer-aided design (CAD) applications.

Dynamap

spatial (map) data that is developed and supported by Tele Atlas NV.

external file

a file that is created and maintained by a host operating system or by another vendor's software application. An external file can read both data and stored SAS statements.

feature

a man-made or natural physical object such as a river, utility line, school, street, or highway; or an intangible boundary or area such as a sales territory, a census tract, a county boundary, or a state boundary.

feedback area

an area in the GIS Map window that displays information about the map scale, as well as about location coordinates, distance values, and attribute values.

file reference

See fileref

fileref

a name that is temporarily assigned to an external file or to an aggregate storage location such as a directory or a folder. The fileref identifies the file or the storage location to SAS.

from-node

the starting coordinates of a line segment on a SAS/GIS map.

generic import file

a file that contains spatial data that you can import by writing a SAS DATA step to convert the data to a SAS/GIS generic form. Once the data is in this generic form, SAS/GIS software can finish the import process.

geocoding

the process of assigning geographic coordinates (often expressed as latitude and longitude) to other geographic data such as street addresses, or postal codes.

geographic information system

a software application for organizing and analyzing data that can be referenced spatially - that is, data that can be associated with physical locations. Many types of data, such as data from marketing surveys and epidemiological studies, have a spatial aspect. Short form: GIS.

GIS

See geographic information system

key variable

an industry-standard file format for compressed images. Saving an image in JPEG format typically provides 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality. Short form: JPEG.

label data set

a data set that defines the attributes (location, color, size, and so on) of labels that will be displayed on a map.

layer

a group of features that have the same attribute. For example, all of the lines that are streets, all of the points that are houses, and all of the areas that are census tracts are layers.

layer definition

a WHERE clause that is applied to spatial data in order to specify which features will be displayed in a layer.

layer entry

a SAS catalog entry of type GISLAYER that includes the type of the layer (point, line, or area), as well as a layer definition and information about the graphical characteristics of the layer, such as the line color, the point symbol, or the fill pattern.

line

in topological terms, a one-dimensional feature that is defined by two zero-dimensional features (points). A line starts at a designated point (the from-node) and ends at a designated point (the to-node), but it can also have intermediate (detail) points. Lines can represent streets, rivers, or boundaries. A line can also be referred to as a chain.

map

a graphic representation of an area. The area is often a geographic area, but it can also be any other area of any size.

map area

See unit area

map data set

a data set provided by SAS that contains variables whose values are coordinates that define the boundaries of map areas, such as a state or country.

map entry

a SAS catalog entry of type GISMAP that contains the layers, links to key variables, the name of the label data set, the name of the coverage entry, legend information, and so on, for a map.

Map window

the SAS/GIS window that displays the current map. The Map window enables you to interactively query attribute data and to modify the map.

MapInfo

a GIS software application that is developed and supported by MapInfo Corporation.

node

a point on a map that has connections to one or more chains.

perimeter

the total length of the sides of a closed polygon. The perimeter value is calculated by the GIS procedure when the AREA option is used.

point

in topological terms, a zero-dimensional feature that is the base component upon which higher dimensional objects (lines and polygons) are defined. A point can represent a feature such as a house, a store, or a town.

polygon

a closed geometric figure that is bounded by lines or arcs. A polygon can be filled to represent a surface.

SAS catalog

a SAS file that stores many different types of information in smaller units called catalog entries. A single SAS catalog can contain different types of catalog entries.

SAS data set

a file whose contents are in one of the native SAS file formats. There are two types of SAS data sets: SAS data files and SAS data views.

SAS library

one or more files that are defined, recognized, and accessible by SAS, and that are referenced and stored as a unit. Each file is a member of the library.

SAS variable

a column in a SAS data set or in a SAS data view. The data values for each variable describe a single characteristic for all observations (rows).

SAS/GIS software

a SAS software product that provides an interactive windowing environment for analyzing and displaying data in a spatial or geographic context.

SAS/GRAPH software

a SAS software product that analyzes data and that visually represents the relationships between data values as two- and three-dimensional graphs.

shapefile

a format for spatial data files that was developed by Esri. The file extension for a shapefile is .shp.

spatial analysis

the process of analyzing data that can be referenced spatially in order to extract or generate new geographical information.

spatial data

coordinates and other information that are used for drawing maps. The maps can include features such as city boundaries, census tract boundaries, streets, schools, and so on. Spatial data is stored in three SAS data sets: the chains, nodes, and details data sets.

spatial database

a database that contains the following three SAS/GIS data sets: chains, nodes, and details. A spatial database also contains catalog entries that define the information that is needed in order to display a map.

static layer

a layer in which the values of the graphical characteristics (fill color, outline color, line width, and so on) are the same for all features in the layer.

thematic layer

a layer in which the graphical characteristics for each feature in the layer are determined by the values of response variables in an associated attribute data set. For example, line widths on a highway layer can represent traffic volumes, and fill colors on an area layer can represent population densities.

TIGER

Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing. A format for map data that was developed by the United States Census Bureau. As of 2007, the TIGER Record Type (RT) file format has been superseded by the TIGER shapefile format.

to-node

the ending coordinates of a line segment on a SAS/GIS map.

tool palette

the collection of icons that represent functions in the interface.

type

See data type

unit area

a polygon or group of polygons on a map. For example, states, provinces, and countries are typical map areas. In a map data set, a map area consists of all the observations that have the same values for the identification variable or variables.

variable

See SAS variable