2013 - Geoinformatics

41
tion locations and profile paths: necessary
if you want to copy projection files installed
on your computer.
Topics discussed in the book include: how
to resolve alignment issues reflected in common
error messages and warnings, how
(and when) to perform geographic transformations
and which transformation to use,
how to decide which map projection to use,
what do the parameters in a projection file
mean and what do they do, how to add x,y
data to a map and much more.
Verdict
As the author writes in the introduction of
the book, understanding coordinate systems
is a challenge. A practical guide like this is,
therefore, indispensable. The decision to
write a practical working manual which isn’t
overly lengthy was a very wise one, since
there are already many theoretical sources
available, which tackle the mathematical
theories behind map projections. Although
this is not a theoretical book, of course there
is theoretical information available, but it’s
not the chief focus of the book.
One could criticize the decision to repeat
certain information provided in some chapters,
but I didn’t find this distracting, since it
allows you to read the parts of the book you
need most in order to complete your work
or solve a specific problem. This is not a
book you probably will read from cover to
cover, but will use as a reference guide or
as a gateway, leading you to other sources.
Anything more detailed would be information
overload.
What makes this publication so valuable, is
the amount of experience reflected on every
page of the book – the author undoubtedly
has years of experience in solving problems
about coordinate systems in ArcGIS. This
book is clearly written by an expert and written
and presented in an accessible way. As
with all Esri books, there are many large
illustrations, which clarify text examples.
What is worth mentioning, however, is the
amount of information on aligning CAD
data, which is not an easy task, according
to the author.
The downside of this book is that the examples
of coordinate systems and illustrations
of sample data are taken from the United
States. Given the scope of this book, this
choice is understandable, but a missed
opportunity in some way. Apart from this
criticism, I found this a very informative and
practical book to read, with tons of information,
which should prove useful to every person
working with coordinate systems in
ArcGIS.
For more information, have a look at: http://esripress.esri.com
June 2013