Feature Class
A collection of similar features (all points, all lines, or all polygons) stored together, often used as a basic organizational unit in spatial databases (standard GIS usage).
Explain Feature Class?
In GIS, a feature class is a basic data structure that is used to store and arrange geographic data. It includes a collection of linked spatial elements that are all of the same geometry type, including polygons (like city borders), lines (like roads), or points (like schools). Spatial data (its location and shape) and attribute data (descriptive information, such as name or category) are included for every feature in the class. Feature classes provide effective data administration, analysis, and visualization and are commonly saved in geodatabases, shapefiles, or other GIS-compatible formats. A "Rivers" feature class, for instance, would contain several river features, each of which would be stored as a line with attributes such as the river's name, length, and flow direction. To put it briefly, a feature class is an organized method for managing and storing collections of related geographic features for use in spatial analysis and mapping.
Related Keywords
A group of geographic features with similar geometry types (points, lines, or polygons) and shared characteristics is called a GIS feature class. In a spatial database, it depicts actual objects such as highways, rivers, or land parcels. The fundamental building blocks of GIS analysis are feature classes, which let users efficiently store, handle, and examine spatial data.
In ArcGIS, a feature class is a group of geographic features that share the same properties and geometry type (point, line, or polygon). Roads, rivers, and other real-world objects are stored along with their data, enabling mapping, analysis, and management within a shapefile or geodatabase.
While a shapefile is an older, more straightforward format composed of many files that is broadly compatible but has less characteristics, a feature class is a geodatabase format that stores geographic features with additional capabilities.
Similar geographic features (points, lines, or polygons) with attributes are stored in ArcGIS as Feature Classes. To create it, right-click on a geodatabase in Catalog, choose New > Feature Class, and then configure its coordinate system, name, and geometry type.