Semantic GIS: Think First, Click Later.
Modern GIS tools are incredibly powerful, but that power comes with a risk: it is all too easy for the “why” of your analysis to get lost in the “how.” Without rigorous management, even the best-intentioned project can drift into a “black box” state—where the logic behind the map becomes invisible, making the results difficult to verify or reproduce.
semanticGIS establishes a new standard for Geospatial Practice. We enforce this through Documentation Driven Development: prioritising the capture of your scientific intent before you execute a single operation. By explicitly defining your analytical pipeline in clear, human-readable terms, we ensure your project remains a transparent “glass box”—collaboration-friendly, trustworthy, and fully portable from the first question to the final map.
To support better Geospatial Practice, the system provides two core tools:
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SemanticGIS Pipeline Language: A tool for defining abstract analytical workflows.
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Geospatial Data Framework: A framework for modeling geospatial reality.
Where to start?
We recommend a pragmatic approach to learning SemanticGIS:
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Learn the Method: Start by reading the Geospatial Practice guide to understand the five phases of the project lifecycle.
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See it in Action: Explore the Application domains & Frameworks to see how these phases are implemented in real-world contexts.
Power tip Once you are familiar with the concepts on the web site , use the Graph View (top right) to navigate the web site as a reference library.