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Currently I am writing my Bachelor thesis and for testing purposes I need software where I can visualize and publish maps and put vector data (point, line, polygon) on them. Can anybody recommend such software?

I have already founded GIS Cloud. I need something like this.

Dmitri
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    That describes pretty much all modern GIS packages. You need to be more specific. You'll be testing what? What types of maps are you thinking of making? You mentioned that you've already found GIS cloud. Why isn't it good enough? What format is your data? Are you looking for a desktop app or just a web app? – R.K. Oct 20 '12 at 12:23
  • +1 to previous comment. If you offered more specifics, the answers will be better fit to your needs. –  Oct 20 '12 at 12:49
  • Cross-posted at http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12986478/gis-software-for-visualization-and-publishing-maps-and-vector-data-on-them. The possible answers are vast; the question--wherever it ends up--needs to be more specific. – whuber Oct 20 '12 at 16:52

3 Answers3

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QGIS would be the desktop tool of choice.

http://www.qgis.org/

You can integrate it with QGISCloud

http://qgiscloud.com/

to publish online.

As simple as that.

Willy
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For ready to use solutions:

  1. TileMill to style and MapBox to publish your maps.
  2. CartoDB to harness PostGIS power in the cloud. (Example of what you can achieve)
  3. Google Fusion Tables also have mapping capabilities.

If you want to invest more time and effort, but gain bigger control over your setup you try to build a mapping stack of mapserver, database and client library. Try three tiers solutions of mapserver (GeoServer), database ( PostgreSQL and PostGIS) and client mapping library (for example Leaflet or OpenLayers or plenty of others). There are plenty of resources on this site to get you started with this combo.

Community
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radek
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Your school may have academic licenses of ArcGIS available, or may have it installed in a lab for student use. ESRI offers a free 60 day trial of the software at that link, if needed. ArcGIS is able to handle most spatial analysis and visualization tasks, although you may have to add certain plugins depending on your specific needs.

If you have to publish results on a web map, ArcGIS Online is a great choice. It offers a free personal account that allows you to store up to 2GB and share your maps with specific people, e.g. your professors. With it, you don't have to worry about typical web publishing headaches such as installing/administering server software, or making sure your data is accessible to the Server. With ArcGIS Online you upload your data after its been processed/analyzed, create your maps (including basemaps and content from other authors if needed), and publish the maps for specific people, groups, or the general public to see.