Getting Started with the Geodatabase

GIS Lab Exercise 1

Goal: In this first exercise the goal was to work with ESRI and begin learning the process of building and adding data to a geodatabase. Following a number of tutorials which walked you through the process of creating and working with feature datasets, rasters and mosaics. This was all leading up to a final exam at the end of the course.

Methods: Learning about different types of databases and how to work with them. Most importantly learning the difference between personal, file and multiuser geodatabases and in what situation each of them should be used. This course focused a lot on the advantages of using a geodatabase. After learning about feature datasets you are able to create your own and add your own feature classes to it. After completing the tutorial about mosaic datasets you are then able to work with its layers. After completing this you are now able to identify the boundary, footprint and image and see how each of these play a role in creating a complete mosaic. In this course you learn how to evaluate existing data and define different structures by selecting the attributes table. An important skill is being able to compare attribute tables and understand the differences between point, line and polygon data. Also the ability to read and gather information from the properties tab. Learning about coordinate systems was also important and being able to determine which one to use is a very useful skill. Being able to organize data is also very important especially when you are working with other people on a project. 

           In this course you create your own geodatabase of the city of San Diego. After creating this you are able to add featured classes by importing them from downloaded data provided by ESRI. After this you are now able to differentiate between scenarios when it is appropriate to import single featured classes compared to multiple featured classes. You are taught how to import shape files and rename featured classes with the import tool. Through the import tool you are able to add non spacial tables and add text and dates to those. During the section on mosaics you explore raster data. After this you create your own mosaic and added the appropriate rasters to it. Editing raster properties is another important skill that you learned during this tutorial and you are able to edit the appearance of the aerial map with the Colormap Function tool. 

Results: Some important take away points from this course are that data from different sources can be added to a geodatabase and that all feature classes in the same feature dataset must have the same spatial reference. When moving existing data to a geodatabase feature class, you are able to exclude attributes from the feature class. When creating a geodatabase feature class or feature dataset, you need to choose a specific coordinate system in which the data will be stored. I also learned that coordinate system can be imported from another dataset, selected from a list, or manually defined. I was able to use the knowledge that I acquired while taking this course to compete my review. After the review I was able to take the exam and pass on the first try. After passing the exam I got my certificate showing that I completed and passed the "Getting Started with the Geodatabase" course provided by ESRI. Below is a picture of the San Diego geodatabase that I created.

Sources:

https://www.esri.com/training/

Fig.1 San Diego Geodatabase