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Welcome to GEOG 868 - Spatial Database Management

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Overview

A spatial database is the backbone of a successful organization or website that depends upon maintaining and using data pertinent to locations on Earth. In GEOG 868, Spatial Database Management, capabilities specific to Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are combined to teach students to create, maintain, and query spatial databases in both desktop and enterprise environments. Learn the basics of Standard Query Language (SQL) and database design/normalization, the specifics of managing spatial data in an open-source technologies context (Postgres/PostGIS) and in the context of the Esri geodatabase. Along the way, you will become familiar with spatial functions and versioning, the latter in a server environment hosted by Amazon Web Services.

GEOG 868 is an elective in Penn State's Certificate in Geospatial Programming and Web Map Development(link is external), Certificate in GIS(link is external), Master of GIS(link is external), and M.S. in Spatial Data Science(link is external) programs.

Learn more about GEOG 868 - Spatial Database Management (1 min, 16 sec)

GEOG 868 Course Introduction
Click here for a transcript of the course introduction video.

JIM DETWILER: Hi. I'm Jim Detwiler, co-author, and instructor of Penn State's course on spatial database management, and I'm now going to share with you my top 10 list of reasons you should sign up for the course. I warn you; you may not find them all funny. In fact, you may not find any of them funny. Number 10, get to pronounce G-I-S as gis. Number 9, get to work with both open source and Esri software. Number 8, project 2 involves UFO sightings. Number seven, learn about versioned editing-- ooo. Number 6, you'll get to work in the Amazon cloud. Number 5, become the person in your office who actually knows how to use Microsoft Access. Number 4, do a final project of your own choosing. Number 3, it's the only place in our curriculum where you can learn about dirty areas. Number 2, find out whether cubic convolution is an actual thing or something that I just made up. And, the number one reason you should sign up for our course-- you'll have a chance to be taught by this man.

Credit: © Penn State is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0(link is external)

Want to join us? Students who register for this Penn State course gain access to assignments and instructor feedback and earn academic credit. For more information, visit Penn State's Online Geospatial Education Program website(link is external). Official course descriptions and curricular details can be reviewed in the University Bulletin(link is external).

This course is offered as part of the Repository of Open and Affordable Materials(link is external) at Penn State. You are welcome to use and reuse materials that appear on this site (other than those copyrighted by others) subject to the licensing agreement linked to the bottom of this and every page.