Spatial Data Types and Formats

We need to manage various spatial data types in our startup that offers rides with e-scooters in Berlin. We require a system that can handle different spatial entities to organize the structure effectively. For instance, we track the locations of our e-scooters, which are represented as points. Additionally, we delineate specific zones where customers can park the e-scooters. Furthermore, the routes taken by our customers are recorded as paths, which, for simplicity, we treat as sampled locations connected by lines.

To manage these spatial entities efficiently, we need a database management system that supports spatial data types, including points, polygons, and multilines. MySQL is well-suited for this task as it offers comprehensive support for spatial data types by implementing the OpenGIS geometry model.

Spatial data types

The OpenGIS model defines a hierarchy of geometries, including Point, Curve, Surface, and GeometryCollection, with Geometry being the root. However, not all these entities are directly usable; for example, Curve and Surface cannot be instantiated. Instead, LineString and its subtypes (Line and LinearRing), as well as Polygon, extend their respective non-instantiable entities to become usable. GeometryCollection allows for combining different spatial types, such as MultiPoint, MultiCurve/MultiLineString, and MultiSurface/MultiPolygon, with only the latter instantiable variants usable. This model can be understood by drawing parallels with Java programming, where non-instantiable entities are akin to abstract classes, and their instantiable counterparts are like concrete classes. ...