(1) Vector: point, line, polygon. These are graphic elements that have location (point), length (line), and area (polygon).These are used to depict features that have distinct locations or edges like hydrants, sidewalks, parking lots, etc. When you zoom in on vector objects their edges stay sharp. Think of a drawing created in CAD.

(2) Raster. These are made up of square cells each of which are the same size and have a color or shade value. These are also called pixels. A raster structure is used for images like aerial photos or objects that have "fuzzy" boundaries like wetlands, soil types, etc. When you zoom in on a raster image, you begin to see the individual pixels. Edges between depicted objects are blocky. Think of an drawing created with a Paint program. The lines and circles may appear smooth when zoomed out, but the greater the zoom the blockier they become as you begin to see the individual pixels.

The two basic data used in Geographic Information Systems (GIS are the vector elements and the raster images.

Vector data and Raster data. Feature types of vector data are points, lines, and polygons while raster data are any pixelated or gridded data, each pixel is associated with geographical location.

Raster (grided based) and Vector (point, line, polygon) are the two data type that we used in GIS.

It is a simple question, but the importance of the geographic information system is extremely necessary for several areas of knowledge such as environmental studies, traffic, displacement, geographic location, territorial planning and many other utilities.

Is this a riddle? My answer is: the 2D co-ordinates.

Well, you could also say the two types are features and attributes. Features are the graphic elements that represent spatially located objects. Attributes are the information about the features.

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