Editing Geoinformatics (section)

{{Short description|Application of information science methods in geography and geosciences}}
{{distinguish|Geomatics}}
{{refimprove|date=October 2015|reason=References are very lacking, and the ones that are there give no page numbers or other verification aids}}
[[File:Leaflet example.png|thumb|[[Leaflet (software)|Leaflet]] library is often used in geoinformatics for the development of web [[map]] [[Web application|applications]]]]
'''Geoinformatics''' is a scientific field primarily within the domains of [[Computer Science]] and [[technical geography]].<ref name="Bello2023">{{cite journal |last1=Bello |first1=Innocent E. |title=Critical Issues in the Methods of Data Collection in Geoinformatics and Environmental Sciences |journal=International Journal of Social Sciences and Management Research |date=October 2023 |volume=9 |issue=8 |pages=18–28 |doi=10.56201/ijssmr.v9.no8.2023.pg18.28|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Krawczyk2022">{{cite journal |last1=Krawczyk |first1=Artur |title=Proposal of Redefinition of the Terms Geomatics and Geoinformatics on the Basis of Terminological Postulates |journal=  ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information|date=9 November 2022 |volume=11 |issue=11 |pages=Krawczyk |doi=10.3390/ijgi11110557 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2022IJGI...11..557K }}</ref> It focuses on the [[Computer programming|programming]] of applications, [[Spatial database|spatial data structures]], and the analysis of objects and [[Spacetime|space-time phenomena]] related to the surface and underneath of Earth and other celestial bodies. The field develops [[software]] and [[Web service|web services]] to model and analyse [[Spatial analysis|spatial data]], serving the needs of [[geosciences]] and related scientific and engineering disciplines. The term is often used interchangeably with [[Geomatics]], although the two have distinct focuses; Geomatics emphasizes acquiring spatial knowledge and leveraging information systems, not their development.<ref name="Krawczyk2022" /> At least one publication has claimed the discipline is pure computer science outside the realm of geography.<ref name="Krawczyk2022" />