This book is an introductory level GIS book. Its feature lies in that not only main basic knowledge in traditional GIS are included， like mathematical basis， geographic data model， vector and raster data analysis，spatial statistics， and network analysis， as a typical GIS application is also included as a separate chapter， but also GIS customization using Python， GIS integration with remote sensing， and Web GIS， especially Cloud GIS， are included.
　　This book is written for undergraduate students in GIS related major， and graduate students who have some geo-spatial knowledge or skills but want to do related research， and it is also suitable for those who desire to obtain a rich beginning understanding of how GIS is used， and for those people who have already had certain skills in other fields.

　　Geography is a familiar noun to all of us， and it has always been important to humans. Almost everything that happens， happens somewhere. Nearly 3000 years ago， maps had been used for exploring the world. Information about the Earth-s surface， about the nature of places and the routes that connect them， is vital to almost all aspects of life today. We need to know where something happens. Many of us are accustomed to find which route to take before we leave for an unfamiliar place， and delivery companies have to decide the routes and schedules of their vehicles on a daily basis. Many people would like to be informed of information nearby， for example， people are eager to know the pollution degree in their living area， like ambient Particulate Matter (PM2. 5) distribution. I am sure you may give a dozen other examples which use location information in your daily life.
　　Geographic Information Systems (GISs) are concerned with the description， explanation， and prediction of patterns and processes at various geographic scales. It is not only a technology， but also a discipline， a science. It has been proven that GIS can provide secure and established foundations for measurement， mapping and analysis of the real world. GIS is of enduring importance because of its central coordinating principles， the specific techniques that have been developed to handle spatial data， the special analysis methods that are key to spatial data， and the particular management issues presented by Geographic Information (GI) handling. Nowadays， GIS technology makes spatial data acquirement and spatial analysis even more convenient via internet. We can easily pull-down maps and images of almost everything we want from almost everywhere and perform various analysis online.

Chapter 1 Introduction to GIS
1．1 Definition of GIS
1．2 GIS Components
1．3 Understanding GIS
1．4 History of GIS
1．5 Applications of GIS
1．6 GIS Today and Tomorrow
1．6．1 GIS today
1．6．2 GIS tomorrow
Conceptual Questions on This Chapter

Chapter 2 Mathematical Basis of GIS
2．1 Introduction
2．2 Basics of Geodesy
2．2．1 Terrain/topography
2．2．2 Geodetic surfaces
2．2．3 Datum
2．3 Coordinate System
2．3．1 Geographic coordinate system
2．3．2 Projected coordinate system
2．4 Map Projection
2．4．1 Projection distortion
2．4．2 Commonly used map projections in GIS
2．5 Image Registration
2．5．1 What is image registration?
2．5．2 Image registration methodology
2．6 Georeferencing
2．6．1 Georeferencing of raster images
2．6．2 Georeferencing of vector data
2．6．3 Georeferencing practices
Conceptual Questions on This Chapter
……

Chapter 3 Geographic Data Model
Chapter 4 Vector Spatial Analysis
Chapter 5 Raster Spatial Analysis
Chapter 6 Spatial Statistics
Chapter 7 Network Analysis
Chapter 8 GIS Customization Using Python
Chapter 9 Integration of GIS & Remote Sensing
Chapter 10 Introduction to Web GIS and Cloud GIS

References