Summary for Spatial Data

In today’s data-driven world, where everything is interconnected, and location plays a crucial role, spatial data has become increasingly important. Spatial data refers to information associated with specific geographic locations, enabling us to analyze, visualize, and understand the world around us. Relational database management systems like MySQL offer powerful features for storing and processing spatial data. With different types of spatial entities, functions, and operators, MySQL provides rich capabilities for us to explore.

Spatial data types and formats

The OpenGIS model defines a hierarchy of geometries, including Point, Curve, Surface, and GeometryCollection, with Geometry being the root. GeometryCollection allows for combining different spatial types, such as MultiPoint, MultiCurve/MultiLineString, and MultiSurface/MultiPolygon, with only the latter instantiable variants usable. MySQL adapts the OpenGIS model by providing corresponding data types. The GEOMETRY data type can store any spatial type, while POINT, LINESTRING, and POLYGON specialize in their respective shapes. Moreover, MULTIPOINT, MULTILINESTRING, and MULTIPOLYGON ...