This short article introduces the definition of buffer and explains how buffers are created for single or multiple geographic features of different geometric types. It also discusses how buffers are generated differently in vector and raster data models and based on the concept of cost.
The purpose of geographic information systems is to represent and analyze geographic phenomena, including entities. An important part of any entity is the set of relationships it has with other entities; such relations are crucial to the nature of geography and geographic inquiry. Relationships are commonly stored in spatial databases in a number of ways, and a variety of tools are available to analyze them.