Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 41.2
Journalistic cartography.
Despite the obvious historical links to
cartography and digital mapping, many early
GIS software products offered little scope for
the production of the cartographic end product.
Only subsequently have products such as ESRI's
Arc/Info provided additional cartographic tools
in the form of modules to help to improve the
map output. Another development has been the
more user-friendly interface provided by
ArcView (http://www.esri.com) and similar
software, which is now widely used as a visual
and exploratory mapping tool. Recently
Maplex, a cartographic name placement system,
has been added to the user toolbox (http://
www.esri.com/maplex).
Despite this, many GIS-produced maps are
still ultimately 'finished off' using graphics
software that allows for customisation of the map.
One reason for this is that many GIS software
packages still do not really allow the user freedom
to do anything more than perhaps create an
electronic version of a paper map, usually within
the constraints of the software's perception of
what cartography entails. The additional
flexibility offered by graphics software allows for
greater customisation of the map. More recent
mapcreation and -production products such as
DRY 2.0 (a product of Lorik), Map Maker Pro
2.1 (Price 1998), and Map Publisher offer an
even closer link between cartography, graphics
and GIS.
CARTOGRAPHIC SOFTWARE
With time, there have been more and more
examples of cartographic software appearing on the
market for desktop computer systems. A well-
known example was the Atlas software. For the
Windows-based work environment, Golden
