Glossary for Geospatial Science

vector: �A quantity possessing magnitude and direction, represented by an arrow, the direction of which indicates the direction of the quantity and the length of which is proportional to the magnitude� (Random House).� In connection with GIS and computer graphics, this term is used more loosely to refer to a set of vectors joined end to end to make an arc or irregular line with a uniform set of properties.� TNTmips uses this looser definition and also imposes topology and attaches a set of attributes to the vector in place of the magnitude in the Random House definition.