Data restored by GIS software can be converted into different formats. GIS can convert satellite image maps into vector structures. This is done by generating lines around cells within the same classifications. They can also determine the cell spatial relationships, such as adjacency and inclusion.

Image processing can do much more advanced data processing. This technique was developed in the 1960s by NASA, and was further enhanced by the private sector. They can do two-dimensional Fourier transforms, contrast enhancements, false color rendering, and a plethora of other techniques. Since digital data is stored and collected in different ways, the data sources tend to not be compatible with one another. To solve this compatibility problem, software built upon GIS technologies must be able to convert geographic data from one to the other. GIS are able to do this because they employ implicit assumptions behind different ontologies and classifications that require heavy analysis. Object ontologies have become much more prominent as a consequence of object-oriented programming (OOP), which makes it more compatible with game development and sustained work by Barry Smith and his coworkers.