SAP HANA Spatial Reference en

PUBLIC
SAP HANA Platform 2.0 SPS 00

Document Version: 1.0 – 2016-11-30
SAP HANA Spatial Reference

Content
1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2 Spatial Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1 Spatial Reference Systems (SRS) and Spatial Reference Identifiers (SRID). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2 Units of Measure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
2.3 Support for Spatial Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Supported Spatial Data Types and Their Hierarchy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Supported Import and Export Formats for Spatial Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Support for ESRI Shapefiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Multidimensional Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.4 Recommended Reading on Spatial Topics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.5 Create Spatial Columns (SQL). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.6 Create a Table with Spatial Columns (SQL). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
2.7 Spatial Data Type Syntax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.8 Advanced Spatial Topics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
How Flat-Earth and Round-Earth Representations Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
How Snap-to-Grid and Tolerance Impact Spatial Calculations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
How Polygon Ring Orientation Works. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
How Geometry Interiors, Exteriors, and Boundaries Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
How Spatial Comparisons Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
How Spatial Relationships Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
How Spatial Dimensions Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
2.9 SpatialShapes Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3 Accessing and Manipulating Spatial Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

3.1 ST_Geometry Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
ST_AsBinary Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
ST_AsEWKB Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
ST_AsEWKT Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
ST_AsGeoJSON Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
ST_AsSVG Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
ST_AsSVGAggr Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
ST_AsText Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
ST_AsWKB Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
ST_AsWKT Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
ST_Boundary Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
ST_Buffer Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

2 PUBLIC Content
ST_Contains Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
ST_ConvexHull Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
ST_ConvexHullAggr Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
ST_CoordDim Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
ST_CoveredBy Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
ST_Covers Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
ST_Crosses Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
ST_Difference Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
ST_Dimension Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
ST_Disjoint Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
ST_Distance Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
ST_Envelope Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
ST_EnvelopeAggr Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
ST_Equals Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
ST_GeomFromEWKB Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
ST_GeomFromEWKT Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
ST_GeomFromText Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
ST_GeomFromWKB Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
ST_GeomFromWKT Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
ST_GeometryType Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
ST_Intersection Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
ST_Intersects Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
ST_IntersectionAggr Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
ST_IntersectsFilter Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
ST_IntersectsRect Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
ST_IntersectsRectPlanar Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
ST_Is3D Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
ST_IsEmpty Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
ST_IsMeasured Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
ST_IsSimple Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
ST_IsValid Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
ST_MMax Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
ST_MMin Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
ST_NumInteriorRing Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
ST_NumInteriorRings Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
ST_OrderingEquals Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
ST_Overlaps Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
ST_Perimeter Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
ST_PointOnSurface Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
ST_Relate Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
ST_SRID Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90

Content PUBLIC 3
ST_SRID(INT) Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
ST_SnapToGrid Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
ST_SymDifference Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
ST_Touches Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
ST_Transform Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
ST_Union Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
ST_UnionAggr Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
ST_Within Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
ST_WithinDistance Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
ST_XMax Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
ST_XMin Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
ST_YMax Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
ST_YMin Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
ST_ZMax Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
ST_ZMin Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
3.2 ST_CircularString Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
ST_CircularString Constructor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
3.3 ST_GeometryCollection Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
ST_GeometryCollection Constructor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
ST_GeometryN Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
ST_NumGeometries Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
3.4 ST_LineString Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
ST_LineString Constructor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
ST_EndPoint Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
ST_IsClosed Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
ST_IsRing Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
ST_Length Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
ST_NumPoints Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
ST_PointN Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
ST_StartPoint Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
3.5 ST_MultiLineString Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
ST_MultiLineString Constructor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
ST_IsClosed Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
ST_Length Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
3.6 ST_MultiPoint Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
ST_MultiPoint Constructor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
3.7 ST_MultiPolygon Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
ST_MultiPolygon Constructor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
ST_Area Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
3.8 ST_Point Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
ST_Point Constructor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

4 PUBLIC Content
ST_M Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
ST_X Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
ST_Y Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
ST_Z Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
3.9 ST_Polygon Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
ST_Polygon Constructor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
ST_Area Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
ST_Centroid Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
ST_ExteriorRing Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
ST_InteriorRingN Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
3.10 List of All Supported Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
3.11 List of All Supported Constructors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
3.12 List of Aggregate Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
3.13 List of Set Operation Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
3.14 List of Static Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
3.15 List of Spatial Predicates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
4 Spatial Clustering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

4.1 Introduction to Spatial Clustering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
4.2 Cluster Algorithms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Grid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
K-Means. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
DBSCAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
4.3 SQL Syntax for Spatial Clustering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Window Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
GROUP CLUSTER BY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
4.4 Methods for Spatial Clustering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
ST_ClusterID Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
ST_ClusterCentroid Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
ST_ClusterEnvelope Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
4.5 Use Cases for Spatial Clustering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
5 Appendix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
5.1 SQL Statements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
CREATE SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM Statement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
CREATE SPATIAL UNIT OF MEASURE Statement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
DROP SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM Statement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
DROP SPATIAL UNIT OF MEASURE Statement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194
5.2 Geocoding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Create Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Modify Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Drop Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Content PUBLIC 5
Maintain the Queue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
System Tables and Monitoring View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Using SAP HANA Geocode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Geocode Provider. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
User Defined Geocode Provider. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Geocoding Errors and Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
5.3 Additional Services for SAP HANA Spatial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204
Spatial Map Client, Content Viewer and Geo-Content. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Geospatial Metadata Installer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

6 PUBLIC Content
1 Introduction
Column-oriented data structures and in-memory computing have developed into powerful components of
today's enterprise applications. While the focus of these developments has primarily been on analyzing sales
data, the potential for using these technologies to analyze geographic information is significant. Support for
the processing of spatial data represents a key evolution in SAP HANA.
To deliver vastly improved performance and results in everything from modeling and storage to analysis and
presentation of your spatial data, SAP HANA includes a multilayered spatial engine and supports spatial
columns, spatial access methods, and spatial reference systems. With these enhanced GIS features, SAP
HANA now provides a common database for both your business and spatial data.
SAP HANA spatial is an SAP HANA optional component.
Caution
SAP HANA server software and tools can be used for several SAP HANA platform and options scenarios as
well as the respective capabilities used in these scenarios. The availability of these is based on the available
SAP HANA licenses and the SAP HANA landscape, including the type and version of the back-end systems
the SAP HANA administration and development tools are connected to. There are several types of licenses
available for SAP HANA. Depending on your SAP HANA installation license type, some of the features and
tools described in the SAP HANA platform documentation may only be available in the SAP HANA options
and capabilities, which may be released independently of an SAP HANA Platform Support Package Stack
(SPS). Although various features included in SAP HANA options and capabilities are cited in the SAP HANA
platform documentation, each SAP HANA edition governs the options and capabilities available. Based on
this, customers do not necessarily have the right to use features included in SAP HANA options and
capabilities. For customers to whom these license restrictions apply, the use of features included in SAP
HANA options and capabilities in a production system requires purchasing the corresponding software
license(s) from SAP. The documentation for the SAP HANA optional components is available in SAP Help
Portal at http://help.sap.com/hana_options. If you have additional questions about what your particular
license provides, or wish to discuss licensing features available in SAP HANA options, please contact your
SAP account team representative.

Introduction PUBLIC 7
2 Spatial Data
Spatial data is data that describes the position, shape, and orientation of objects in a defined space. Spatial
data is represented as 2D geometries in the form of points, line strings, and polygons. For example, the
following image shows the state of Massachusetts, representing the union of polygons representing zip code
regions.
Two common operations performed on spatial data are calculating the distance between geometries, and
determining the union or intersection of multiple objects. These calculations are performed using predicates
such as intersects, contains, and crosses.
The spatial data documentation assumes you already have some familiarity with spatial reference systems
and with the spatial data you intend to work with.
The software provides storage and data management features for spatial data, allowing you to store
information such as geographic locations, routing information, and shape data.
These information pieces are stored as points and various forms of polygons and lines in columns defined with
a corresponding spatial data type (such as ST_Point and ST_Polygon). You use methods and constructors to
access and manipulate the spatial data. The software also provides a set of SQL spatial functions designed for
compatibility with other products.
Example
How spatial data might be used
Spatial data support lets application developers´ associate spatial information with their data. For example,
a table representing companies could store the location of the company as a point, or store the delivery
area for the company as a polygon. This could be represented in SQL as (returns 1):
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon((0 0, 0 1, 1 1, 1 0, 0 0 ))').ST_Contains( NEW

ST_POINT('Point(0.5 0.5)') ) FROM dummy;

8 PUBLIC Spatial Data
Note
ST_POINT is composed of longitude and latitude:
NEW ST_Point( <longitude> , <latitude> )

NEW ST_Point('POINT ( <longitude> <latitude> )')
2.1 Spatial Reference Systems (SRS) and Spatial

Reference Identifiers (SRID)
In the context of spatial databases, the defined space in which geometries are described is called a spatial
reference system (SRS). A spatial reference system defines, at minimum:
● Units of measure of the underlying coordinate system (degrees, meters, and so on)
● Maximum and minimum coordinates (also referred to as the bounds)
● Default linear unit of measure
● Whether the data is planar or spheroid data
● Projection information for transforming the data to other SRSs
Every spatial reference system has an identifier called a Spatial Reference Identifier (SRID). When the
database server performs operations like finding out if a geometry touches another geometry, it uses the SRID
to look up the spatial reference system definition so that it can perform the calculations properly for that
spatial reference system. Each SRID must be unique in a database.
Spatial reference system information is stored in the ST_SPATIAL_REFERENCE_SYSTEMS system view.
By default, the database server adds the following spatial reference systems to a new database:
Default - SRID 0 This is the default spatial reference system used when constructing a geometry
and the SRID is not specified in the SQL and is not present in the value being
loaded.
Default is a Cartesian spatial reference system that works with data on a flat, two
dimensional plane. Any point on the plane can be defined using a single pair of x,
y coordinates where x and y have the bounds -1,000,000 to 1,000,000.
Distances are measured using perpendicular coordinate axis. This spatial
reference system is assigned SRID of 0.
Cartesian is a planar type of spatial reference system.
WGS84 - SRID 4326 The WGS84 standard provides a spheroidal reference surface for the Earth. It is
the spatial reference system used by the Global Positioning System (GPS). The

Spatial Data PUBLIC 9
coordinate origin of WGS 84 is the Earth's center, and is considered accurate up
to ±1 meter. WGS stands for World Geodetic System.
WGS 84 Coordinates are in degrees, where the first coordinate is longitude with
bounds -180 to 180, and the second coordinate is latitude with bounds -90 to 90.
The default unit of measure for WGS 84 is METRE, and it is a round-Earth type of
spatial reference system.
WGS 84 (planar) - SRID WGS 84 (planar) is similar to WGS 84 except that it uses equirectangular
1000004326 projection, which distorts length, area and other computations. For example, at
the equator in both WGS 84 and WGS 84 (planar), 1 degree longitude is
approximately 111 km. At 80 degrees north, 1 degree of longitude is
approximately 19 km in WGS 84, but WGS 84 (planar) treats 1 degree of
longitude as approximately 111 km at all latitudes. The amount of distortion of
lengths in the WGS 84 (planar) is considerable—off by a factor of 10 or more—
the distortion factor varies depending on the location of the geometries relative
to the equator. Consequently, WGS 84 (planar) should not be used for distance
and area calculations. It should only be used for relationship predicates such as
ST_Contains, ST_Touches, ST_Covers, and so on.
The default unit of measure for WGS 84 (planar) is planar DEGREE, and it is a
flat-Earth type of spatial reference system.
sa_planar_unbounded For internal use only.

(unbounded (planar)) -
SRID 2147483646
2.2 Units of Measure
Geographic features can be measured in degrees of latitude, radians, or other angular units of measure. Every
spatial reference system must explicitly state the name of the unit in which geographic coordinates are
measured, and must include the conversion from the specified unit to a radian.
If you are using a projected coordinate system, the individual coordinate values represent a linear distance
along the surface of the Earth to a point. Coordinate values can be measured by the meter, foot, mile, or yard.
The projected coordinate system must explicitly state the linear unit of measure in which the coordinate
values are expressed.
The following units of measure are automatically installed in any new database:
meter A linear unit of measure. Also known as International metre. SI standard unit. Defined by ISO
1000.
metre A linear unit of measure. An alias for meter. SI standard unit. Defined by ISO 1000.
radian An angular unit of measure. SI standard unit. Defined by ISO 1000:1992.
degree An angular unit of measure (pi()/180.0 radians).

planar degree A linear unit of measure. Defined as 60 nautical miles. A linear unit of measure used for
geographic spatial reference systems with PLANAR line interpretation.
Unit of measure information is stored in the ST_UNITS_OF_MEASURE system view.
2.3 Support for Spatial Data
The following sections describe the SAP HANA support for spatial data.
2.3.1 Supported Spatial Data Types and Their Hierarchy
Spatial support follows the SQL Multimedia (SQL/MM) standard for storing and accessing geospatial data.
A key component of this standard is the use of the ST_Geometry type hierarchy to define how geospatial data
is created. Within the hierarchy, the prefix ST is used for all data types (also referred to as classes or types).
When a column is identified as a specific type, the values of the type and its subtypes can be stored in the
column. For example, a column identified as ST_Geometry can also store the ST_LineString and
ST_MultiLineString values.
Descriptions of supported spatial data types
The following spatial data types are supported:
Geometries The term geometry means the overarching type for objects such as points, linestrings, and
polygons. The geometry type is the supertype for all supported spatial data types.
Points A point defines a single location in space. A point geometry does not have length or area. A
point always has an X and Y coordinate.
ST_Dimension returns 0 for non-empty points.
In GIS data, points are typically used to represent locations such as addresses, or
geographic features such as a mountain.
Multipoints A multipoint is a collection of individual points.
In GIS data, multipoints are typically used to represent a set of locations.
Linestrings A linestring is geometry with a length, but without any area. ST_Dimension returns 1 for non-
empty linestrings. Linestrings can be characterized by whether they are simple or not
simple, closed or not closed. Simple means a linestring that does not cross itself. Closed
means a linestring that starts and ends at the same point. For example, a ring is an example
of simple, closed linestring.

In GIS data, linestrings are typically used to represent rivers, roads, or delivery routes.
Multilinestrings A multilinestring is a collection of linestrings.
In GIS data, multilinestrings are often used to represent geographic features like rivers or a
highway network.
Polygons A polygon defines a region of space. A polygon is constructed from one exterior bounding
ring that defines the outside of the region and zero or more interior rings which define holes
in the region. A polygon has an associated area but no length.
ST_Dimension returns 2 for non-empty polygons.
In GIS data, polygons are typically used to represent territories (counties, towns, states, and
so on), lakes, and large geographic features such as parks.
Multipolygons A multipolygon is a collection of zero or more polygons.
In GIS data, multipolygons are often used to represent territories made up of multiple
regions (for example a state with islands), or geographic features such as a system of lakes.
Circularstrings A circularstring is a connected sequence of circular arc segments; much like a linestring
with circular arcs between points.
Spatial type hierarchy
The following diagram illustrates the hierarchy of the ST_Geometry data types:

Object-oriented properties of spatial data types
● A subtype (or derived type) is more specific than its supertype (or base type).
● A subtype inherits all methods from all supertypes. For example, ST_Polygon values can call methods
from the ST_Geometry.
● A value of a subtype can be automatically converted to any of its supertypes. For example, an ST_Point
value can be used where a ST_Geometry parameter is required, as in
point1.ST_Distance( point2 ).
● A column or variable can store a values of any subtype. For example, a column of type ST_Geometry can
store spatial values of any type.
● A column, variable, or expression with a declared type can be treated as, or cast to a subtype. For
example, you can use the TREAT expression to change a ST_Polygon value in a ST_Geometry column
named geom to have declared type ST_Surface so you can call the ST_Area method on it with
TREAT( geom AS ST_Surface ).ST_Area().
2.3.1.1 Supported Spatial Predicates
A predicate is a conditional expression that, combined with the logical operators AND and OR, makes up the
set of conditions in a WHERE, HAVING, or ON clause, or in an IF or CASE expression, or in a CHECK constraint.
In SQL, a predicate may evaluate to TRUE, FALSE. In many contexts, a predicate that evaluates to UNKNOWN
is interpreted as FALSE.
Spatial predicates are implemented as member functions that return 0 or 1. To test a spatial predicate, your
query should compare the result of the function to 1 or 0 using the = or <> operator. For example:
SELECT * FROM SpatialShapes WHERE shape.ST_IsEmpty() = 0;
You use predicates when querying spatial data to answer such questions as: how close together are two or
more geometries? Do they intersect or overlap? Is one geometry contained within another? If you are a
delivery company, for example, you may use predicates to determine if a customer is within a specific delivery
area.
Related Information
SpatialShapes Table [page 32]
2.3.1.1.1 Intuitiveness of Spatial Predicates
Sometimes the outcome of a predicate is not intuitive.
Test special cases to make sure you are getting the results you want. For example, in order for a geometry to
contain another geometry (a.ST_Contains(b)=1), or for a geometry to be within another geometry
(b.ST_Within(a)=1), the interior of a and the interior of b must intersect, and no part of b can intersect the

exterior of a. However, there are some cases where you would expect a geometry to be considered contained
or within another geometry, but it is not.
For example, the following return 0 (a is red) for a.ST_Contains(b) and b.ST_Within(a):
Case one and two are obvious; the purple geometries are not completely within the red squares. Case three
and four, however, are not as obvious. In both of these cases, the purple geometries are only on the boundary
of the red squares. ST_Contains does not consider the purple geometries to be within the red squares, even
though they appear to be within them.
ST_Covers and ST_CoveredBy are similar predicates to ST_Contains and ST_Within. The difference is that
ST_Covers and ST_CoveredBy do not require the interiors of the two geometries to intersect. Also, ST_Covers
and ST_CoveredBy often have more intuitive results than ST_Contains and ST_Within.
If your predicate tests return a different result for cases than desired, consider using the ST_Relate method to
specify the exact relationship you are testing for.
2.3.2 Supported Import and Export Formats for Spatial Data
The following table lists the data and file formats supported for importing and exporting spatial data:
Table 1:
Data format Import Export Description
Well Known Text Yes Yes Geographic data expressed in ASCII text. This format is maintained by
(WKT) the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) as part of the Simple Features
defined for the OpenGIS Implementation Specification for Geographic
Information. See http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/sfa .
Here is an example of how a point might be represented in WKT:
'POINT(1 1)'
Well Known Binary Yes Yes Geographic data expressed as binary streams. This format is maintained
(WKB) by the OGC as part of the Simple Features defined for the OpenGIS Im
plementation Specification for Geographic Information. See http://
www.opengeospatial.org/standards/sfa .
Here is an example of how a point might be represented in WKB:
'0101000000000000000000F03F000000000000F03F'

Data format Import Export Description
Extended Well Known Yes Yes WKT format, but with SRID information embedded. This format is main
Text (EWKT) tained as part of PostGIS, the spatial database extension for Post
greSQL. See post-gis.refractions.net/ .
'srid=101;POINT (1 1)'
Extended Well Known Yes Yes WKB format, but with SRID information embedded. This format is main
Binary (EWKB) tained as part of PostGIS, the spatial database extension for Post
greSQL. See post-gis.refractions.net/ .
Here is an example of how a point might be represented in EWKB:
'01010000020040
000000000000000
0F03F0000000000
00F03F'
ESRI shapefiles Yes No A popular geospatial vector data format for representing spatial objects
in the form of shapefiles (several files that are used together to define
the shape).
GeoJSON No Yes Text format that uses name/value pairs, ordered lists of values, and con
ventions similar to those used in common programming languages such
as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Perl, and Python.
GeoJSON is a subset of the JSON standard and is used to encode geo

graphic information. The GeoJSON standard is supported and the soft
ware provides the ST_AsGeoJSON method for converting SQL output to
the GeoJSON format.
Here is an example of how a point might be represented in GeoJSON:
{"x" : 1, "y" : 1, "spatialReference" :

{"wkid" : 4326}}
For more information about the GeoJSON specification, see http://

geojson.org/geojson-spec.html .
Scalable Vector No Yes XML-based format used to represent twodimensional geometries. The
Graphic (SVG) files SVG format is maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
See www.w3.org/Graphics/ SVG/ .
Here is an example of how a point might be represented in SVG:
<rect width="1"
height="1"
fill="deepskyblue"
stroke="black"
strokewidth="
1" x="1"
y="-1"/>

2.3.3 Support for ESRI Shapefiles
The Environmental System Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) shapefile format is supported. ESRI shapefiles are
used to store geometry data and attribute information for the spatial features in a data set.
An ESRI shapefile includes at least three different files: .shp, .shx, and .dbf. The suffix for the main file
is .shp, the suffix for the index file is .shx, and the suffix for the attribute columns is .dbf. All files share the
same base name and are frequently combined in a single compressed file. The software can read all ESRI
shapefiles with all shape types except MultiPatch. This includes shape types that include Z and M data.
The data in an ESRI shapefile usually contains multiple rows and columns. For example, the spatial tutorial
loads a shapefile that contains zip code regions for Massachusetts. The shapefile contains one row for each zip
code region, including the polygon information for the region. It also contains additional attributes (columns)
for each zip code region, including the zip code name (for example, the string '02633') and other attributes.
Related Information
http://www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/shapefile.pdf
Import ESRI Shapefiles Using Menu Functions [page 17]
Import ESRI Shapefiles Using SQL Commands [page 16]
2.3.3.1 Import ESRI Shapefiles Using SQL Commands
You can import ESRI shapefiles using SQL commands.
To load ESRI shapefiles to a SAP HANA system perform these steps:
1. Create or acquire ESRI shapefiles.

2. Create a zip file containing the ESRI shapefiles.
3. Copy the zip file containing the ESRI shapefiles to the host on which the SAP HANA system runs.
4. Unzip the zip file which contains the ESRI shapefiles.
5. Make the files accessible to the <sid>adm user.
6. Call a SAP HANA studio, and log on to the SAP HANA System.
7. Open an SQL console.
8. Enter the SQL command to import the ESRI shapefiles.
To load a shapefile into a table, simply use the standard import statement with AS SHAPEFILE as follows:
IMPORT [<schema_name>.]<identifier> AS SHAPEFILE FROM <path> [WITH

<shapefile-option-list> ]
<schema_name> ::= <identifier>
<path> ::= <string_literal>
<shapefile_option_list> ::= <shapefile_option> [{, <shapefile_option_list>}]
<shapefile-option> ::= CATALOG ONLY | REPLACE | SRID <srs-id> |
THREADS <number_of_threads>
<srs-id> ::= <unsigned_integer>
<number_of_threads> ::= <unsigned_integer>
(prefix: filename without extension, abs-path: absolute path)

If the schema does not exist, it will be created before the import statement is performed.
Example
The following SQL commands could be used to import an ESRI shapefile:
IMPORT MY_SCHEMA.MY_TABLE AS SHAPEFILE FROM '/tmp/shapefile';

IMPORT MY_SCHEMA.MY_TABLE AS SHAPEFILE FROM '/tmp/shapefile' WITH REPLACE;
IMPORT MY_SCHEMA.MY_TABLE AS SHAPEFILE FROM '/tmp/shapefile' WITH SRID 4326;
IMPORT MY_SCHEMA.MY_TABLE AS SHAPEFILE FROM '/tmp/shapefile' WITH REPLACE SRID
4326;
IMPORT MY_SCHEMA.MY_TABLE AS SHAPEFILE FROM '/tmp/shapefile' WITH SRID 0
THREADS 4;
In the directory /tmp there are the following files: shapefile.shp, shapefile.shx, shapefile.dbf.
2.3.3.2 Import ESRI Shapefiles Using Menu Functions

You can import ESRI shapefiles using menu functions.
To load ESRI shapefiles to a SAP HANA system perform these steps:
1. Copy the ESRI shapefiles (for example shapefile.shp, shapefile.shx, shapefile.dbf) to the
directory you have chosen, according to the import location (server, current client), you want to use, and
provide the necessary access rights to the files.
2. Call a SAP HANA studio and log on to the SAP HANA system.
3. In the File menu, choose Import.
4. Expand the SAP HANA node.
5. Choose ESRI Shapefiles, and choose Next.
6. Choose the Import Location:
○ Import ESRI shapefiles on server
You can choose the default directory on the server or enter a different directory, where the shapefiles
are located on the server.
○ Import ESRI shapefiles from current client
Enter the directory, where the shapefiles are located on the current client.
7. Choose Next.
8. Select the ESRI shapefiles you want to import, and choose Next.
9. Enter the name of the schema you want to import the ESRI shapefiles into, and choose the additional
import options.
10. Choose Finish.
2.3.4 Multidimensional Support

SAP HANA Spatial supports multidimensional spatial data.
Note
SAP HANA spatial supports multidimensional spatial data for the column type ST_GEOMETRY.

The following dimension types are supported:
● 2D dimension (X, Y)
● 2D dimension with measure (X, Y, M)
● 3D dimension (X, Y, Z)
● 3D dimension with measure (X, Y, Z, M)
Multidimensional support is available for the following spatial data types (examples in WKT format):
● ST_Point
○ 'Point (10 20)'
○ 'Point M(10 30 40)'
○ 'Point Z(10 30 60)'
○ 'Point ZM(10 20 30 50)'
● ST_LineString
○ 'LineString (0 0, 5 10)'
○ 'LineString M(0 0 4, 5 10 6)'
○ 'LineString Z(0 0 7, 5 10 4)'
○ 'LineString ZM(0 0 3 6, 5 10 4 8)'
● ST_Polygon
○ 'Polygon ((-5 -5, 5 -5, 0 5, -5 -5), (-2 -2, -2 0, 2 0, 2 -2, -2 -2))'
○ 'Polygon Z((-5 -5 6, 5 -5 6, 0 5 6, -5 -5 6), (-2 -2 1, -2 0 1, 2 0 1, 2 -2
1, -2 -2 1))'
○ 'Polygon M((-5 -5 6, 5 -5 6, 0 5 6, -5 -5 6), (-2 -2 1, -2 0 1, 2 0 1, 2 -2
1, -2 -2 1))'
○ 'Polygon ZM((-5 -5 6 4, 5 -5 6 4, 0 5 6 4, -5 -5 6 4), (-2 -2 1 4, -2 0 1 4,
2 0 1 4, 2 -2 1 4, -2 -2 1 4))'
● ST_MultiPoint
○ 'MultiPoint ((10 10), (12 12), (14 10))'
○ 'MultiPoint Z((10 10 12), (12 12 14), (14 10 10))'
○ 'MultiPoint ZM((10 10 12 1), (12 12 14 1), (14 10 10 1))'
● ST_MultiLineString
○ 'MultiLineString ((10 10, 12 12), (14 10, 16 12))'
○ 'MultiLineString Z((10 10 10, 12 12 12), (14 10 10, 16 12 12))'
○ 'MultiLineString ZM((10 10 10 10, 12 12 12 10), (14 10 12 13, 16 12 13 14))'
● ST_MultiPolygon
○ 'MultiPolygon (((-5 -5, 5 -5, 0 5, -5 -5), (-2 -2, -2 0, 2 0, 2 -2, -2 -2)),
((10 -5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5)))'
○ 'MultiPolygon M(((-5 -5 3, 5 -5 3, 0 5 3, -5 -5 3), (-2 -2 3, -2 0 3, 2 0 3,
2 -2 3, -2 -2 3)), ((10 -5 3, 15 5 3, 5 5 3, 10 -5 3)))'
○ 'MultiPolygon ZM(((-5 -5 4 1, 5 -5 7 1, 0 5 1 1, -5 -5 4 1), (-2 -2 9 1, -2 0
4 1, 2 0 4 1, 2 -2 1 1, -2 -2 9 1)), ((10 -5 2 1, 15 5 2 1, 5 5 3 1, 10 -5 2
1)))'
● ST_GeometryCollection
○ 'GeometryCollection (LineString (5 10, 10 12, 15 10), Polygon ((10 -5, 15 5,
5 5, 10 -5)))'

○ 'GeometryCollection Z(LineString Z(5 10 20, 10 12 25, 15 10 13), Polygon
Z((10 -5 4, 15 5 6, 5 5 7, 10 -5 4)), Point Z(10 15 12))'
2.4 Recommended Reading on Spatial Topics
Various recommended readings on spatial topics are available.
● A brief overview of coordinates and their reference systems: http://www.iogp.org/geomatics ->

Geodetic awareness (http://www.iogp.org/pubs/373-01.pdf )
● OGC OpenGIS Implementation Specification for Geographic information - Simple feature access: http://
www.opengeospatial.org/standards/sfs
● International Standard ISO/IEC 13249-3:2006: http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?
csnumber=38651
● Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.1 Specification: http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/
● JavaScript Object Notation (JSON): http://json.org
● GeoJSON specification: http://geojson.org/geojson-spec.html
2.5 Create Spatial Columns (SQL)
You can add spatial data to any table by adding a column that supports spatial data.
Prerequisites
You must be the owner of the table, or have the ALTER privilege for the table, or alternatively have the ALTER
ANY TABLE or ALTER ANY OBJECT system privilege.
Note
The following column types are supported for column tables only:
● ST_POINT
Column type ST_POINT supports 2D spatial data (X, Y) for spatial data type ST_Point.
● ST_GEOMETRY
Column type ST_GEOMETRY supports multidimensional spatial data for the following spatial data
types: ST_CircularString, ST_GeometryCollection, ST_LineString, ST_MultiLineString, ST_MultiPoint,
ST_MultiPolygon, ST_Point, and ST_Polygon.

Procedure
1. Connect to the database.

2. Execute an ALTER TABLE statement.
Results
A spatial column is added to the existing table.
Example
The following statement adds a spatial column named Location to the SpatialShapes table. The new column
is of spatial data type ST_Point, and has a declared SRID of 1000004326, which is a flat-Earth spatial
reference system.
ALTER TABLE SpatialShapes ADD (location ST_POINT(1000004326));
Next Steps
You can place SRID constraints on the column in order to place restrictions on the values that can be stored in
a spatial column.
2.6 Create a Table with Spatial Columns (SQL)
You create a table with columns which support spatial data.
You need to have the privilege for creating tables in a database schema.
Note
The following column types are supported for column tables only:
● ST_POINT
Column type ST_POINT supports 2D spatial data (X, Y) for spatial data type ST_Point.
● ST_GEOMETRY
Column type ST_GEOMETRY supports multidimensional spatial data for the following spatial data
types: ST_CircularString, ST_GeometryCollection, ST_LineString, ST_MultiLineString, ST_MultiPoint,
ST_MultiPolygon, ST_Point, and ST_Polygon.
1. Connect to the database.

2. Execute a CREATE TABLE statement.

Example
The following statement creates table SpatialShapes_POINTS, which contains column SHAPE with
column type ST_POINT:
CREATE COLUMN TABLE MYSCHEMA.SpatialShapes_POINTS

(
ShapeID integer,
SHAPE ST_Point
);
Example
The following statement creates table SpatialShapes_GEOMETRIES, which contains column SHAPE1 with
column type ST_POINT, and column SHAPE2 with column type ST_GEOMETRY:
CREATE COLUMN TABLE MYSCHEMA.SpatialShapes_GEOMETRIES

(
ShapeID integer,
SHAPE1 ST_Point,
SHAPE2 ST_GEOMETRY
);
2.7 Spatial Data Type Syntax
The SQL/MM standard defines spatial data support in terms of user-defined extended types (UDTs) built on
the ANSI/SQL CREATE TYPE statement. Although user-defined types are not supported, the spatial data
support has been implemented as though they are supported.
Instantiating instances of a UDT
You can instantiate a value of a user-defined type by calling a constructor as follows:
NEW <type-name>( <argument-list>)
For example, a query could contain the following to instantiate two ST_Point values:
SELECT NEW ST_Point(), NEW ST_Point(3,4) FROM dummy;
The database server matches <argument-list> against defined constructors using the normal overload
resolution rules. An error is returned in the following situations:
● If NEW is used with a type that is not a user-defined type

● If the user-defined type is not instantiable (for example, ST_Geometry is not an instantiable type).
● If there is no overload that matches the supplied argument types

Using instance methods
User defined types can have instance methods defined. Instance methods are invoked on a value of the type
as follows:
<value-expression>.<method-name>( <argument-list> )
For example, the following fictitious example selects the X coordinate:
SELECT NEW ST_Point(2.25, 3.41).ST_X() FROM dummy;
If there was a user ID called CenterPoint, the database server would consider CenterPoint.ST_X() to be
ambiguous. This is because the statement could mean "call the user-defined function ST_X owned by user
CenterPoint" (the incorrect intention of the statement), or it could mean "call the ST_X method on the
Massdata.CenterPoint column" (the correct meaning). The database server resolves the ambiguity by first
performing a case-insensitive search for a user named CenterPoint. If one is found, the database server
proceeds as though a user-defined function called ST_X and owned by user CenterPoint is being called. If no
user is found, the database server treats the construct as a method call and calls the ST_X method on the
Massdata.CenterPoint column.
An instance method invocation gives an error in the following cases:
● If the declared type of the <value-expression> is not a user-defined type

● If the named method is not defined in the declared type of <value-expression> or one of its supertypes
● If <argument-list> does not match one of the defined overloads for the named method.
2.8 Advanced Spatial Topics
This section contains advanced spatial topics.
2.8.1 How Flat-Earth and Round-Earth Representations Work
SAP HANA supports both flat-Earth and round-Earth representations.
Flat-Earth reference systems project all or a portion of the surface of the Earth to a flat, two dimensional plane
(planar), and use a simple 2D Euclidean geometry. Lines between points are straight (except for
circularstrings), and geometries cannot wrap over the edge (cross the dateline).
Round-Earth spatial reference systems use an ellipsoid to represent the Earth. Points are mapped to the
ellipsoid for computations, all lines follow the shortest path and arc toward the pole, and geometries can cross
the date line. The following characteristics are true for Round-Earth representations:
● For intersections, the line segments of the geometries are interpreted as parts of great circles on a sphere.
● A rectangle defined by two points LL and UR will be identical to the following polygon: POLYGON ((X(LL)
Y(LL), X(UR) Y(LL), X(UR) Y(UR), X(LL) Y(UR), X(LL) Y(LL) ))
● Distance calculations use the Vincenty's formulae on the ellipsoid using geodesy parameters of the SRS.

For information about which methods support Round-Earth representation, see List of All Supported Methods
in the SAP HANA Spatial Reference.
Both flat-Earth and round-Earth representations have their limitations. There is not a single ideal map
projection that best represents all features of the Earth, and depending on the location of an object on the
Earth, distortions may affect its area, shape, distance, or direction.
Limitations of round-Earth spatial reference systems
● When working with a round-Earth spatial reference system such as WGS84, many operations are not
available. For example, computing distance is restricted to points or collections of points.
● Some predicates and set operations are also not available.
● Circularstrings are not allowed in round-Earth spatial reference systems.
● Computations in round-Earth spatial reference systems are more expensive than the corresponding
computation in a flat-Earth spatial reference system.
● The ST_IntersectsRect method currently does not allow to cover more than 1 hemisphere (full globe
support).
● Polygon rings are automatically reordered if they are not in counter-clockwise orientation. This prevents
polygons covering more than one hemisphere as well.
Limitations of flat-Earth spatial reference systems
A flat-Earth spatial reference system is a planar spatial reference system that has a projection defined for it.
Projection resolves distortion issues that occur when using a flat-Earth spatial reference system to operate on
round-Earth data. For example of the distortion that occurs if projection is not used, the next two images show
the same group of zip code regions in Massachusetts. The first image shows the data in a SRID 3586, which is
a projected planar spatial reference system specifically for Massachusetts data. The second image shows the
data in a planar spatial reference system without projection (SRID 1000004326). The distortion manifests
itself in the second image as larger-than-actual distances, lengths, and areas that cause the image to appear
horizontally stretched.
Projected planar spatial reference system (SRID 3586)
Planar spatial reference system without projection (SRID 1000004326)

While more calculations are possible in flat-Earth spatial reference systems, calculations are only accurate for
areas of bounded size, due to the effect of projection.
You can project round-Earth data to a flat-Earth spatial reference system to perform distance computations
with reasonable accuracy provided you are working within distances of a few hundred kilometers. To project
the data to a planar projected spatial reference system, you use the ST_Transform method.
Related Information
List of All Supported Methods [page 155]
2.8.2 How Snap-to-Grid and Tolerance Impact Spatial

Calculations
Spatial calculations are impacted by Snap-to-grid and Tolerance.
Snap-to-grid is the action of positioning the points in a geometry so they align with intersection points on a
grid. When aligning a point with the grid, the X and Y values may be shifted by a small amount - similar to
rounding. In the context of spatial data, a grid is a framework of lines that is laid down over a two-dimensional
representation of a spatial reference system. The database server uses a square grid.
As a simplistic example of snap-to-grid, if the grid size is 0.2, then the line from Point( 14.2321, 28.3262 ) to
Point( 15.3721, 27.1128 ) would be snapped to the line from Point( 14.2, 28.4 ) to Point( 15.4, 27.2 ). Grid size is
typically much smaller than this simplistic example, however, so the loss of precision is much less.
By default, the database server automatically sets the grid size so that 12 significant digits can be stored for
every point within the X and Y bounds of a spatial reference system. For example, if the range of X values is
from -180 to 180, and the range of Y values is from -90 to 90, the database server sets the grid size to 1e-9
(0.000000001). That is, the distance between both horizontal and vertical grid lines is 1e-9. The intersection
points of the grid line represents all the points that can be represented in the spatial reference system. When a
geometry is created or loaded, each point's X and Y coordinates are snapped to the nearest points on the grid.
Tolerance defines the distance within which two points or parts of geometries are considered equal. This can
be thought of as all geometries being represented by points and lines drawn by a marker with a thick tip, where
the thickness is equal to the tolerance. Any parts that touch when drawn by this thick marker are considered

equal within tolerance. If two points are exactly equal to tolerance apart, they are considered not equal within
tolerance.
As a simplistic example of tolerance, if the tolerance is 0.5, then Point( 14.2, 28.4 ) and Point( 14.4, 28.2 ) are
considered equal. This is because the distance between the two points (in the same units as X and Y) is about
0.283, which is less than the tolerance. Tolerance is typically much smaller than this simplistic example,
however.
Tolerance can cause extremely small geometries to become invalid. Lines which have length less than
tolerance are invalid (because the points are equivalent), and similarly polygons where all points are equal
within tolerance are considered invalid.
Snap-to-grid and tolerance are set on the spatial reference system and are always specified in same units as
the X and Y (or Longitude and Latitude) coordinates. Snap-to-grid and tolerance work together to overcome
issues with inexact arithmetic and imprecise data. However, be aware of how their behavior can impact the
results of spatial operations.
Note
For planar spatial reference systems, setting grid size to 0 is never recommended as it can result in
incorrect results from spatial operations.
The following examples illustrate the impact of grid size and tolerance settings on spatial calculations.
Example
Example 1: Snap-to-grid impacts intersection results
Two triangles (shown in black) are loaded into a spatial reference system where tolerance is set to grid size,
and the grid in the diagram is based on the grid size. The red triangles represent the black triangles after the
triangle vertexes are snapped to the grid. Notice how the original triangles (black) are well within tolerance
of each other, whereas the snapped versions in red do not. ST_Intersects returns 0 for these two
geometries. If tolerance was larger than the grid size, ST_Intersects would return 1 for these two
geometries.
Example
Example 2: Tolerance impacts intersection results
In the following example, two lines lie in a spatial reference system where tolerance is set to 0. The
intersection point of the two lines is snapped to the nearest vertex in the grid. Since tolerance is set to 0, a
test to determine if the intersection point of the two lines intersects the diagonal line returns false.

In other words, the following expression returns 0 when tolerance is 0:
vertical_line.ST_Intersection( diagonal_line ).ST_Intersects( diagonal_line )
Setting the tolerance to grid size (the default), however, causes the intersection point to be inside the thick
diagonal line. So a test of whether the intersection point intersects the diagonal line within tolerance would
pass:

Example
Example 3: Tolerance and transitivity
In spatial calculations when tolerance is in use, transitivity does not necessary hold. For example, suppose
you have the following three lines in a spatial reference system where the tolerance is equal to the grid size:
The ST_Equals method considers the black and red lines to be equivalent within tolerance, and the red and
blue lines to be equivalent within tolerance but black line and the blue line are not equivalent within
tolerance. ST_Equals is not transitive.
ST_OrderingEquals considers each of these lines to be different, and ST_OrderingEquals is transitive.
Example
Example 4: Impact of grid and tolerance settings on imprecise data
Suppose you have data in a projected planar spatial reference system which is mostly accurate to within 10
centimeters, and always accurate to within 10 meters. You have three choices:
1. Use the default grid size and tolerance that the database server selects, which is normally greater than
the precision of your data. Although this provides maximum precision, predicates such as
ST_Intersects, ST_Touches, and ST_Equals may give results that are different than expected for some
geometries, depending on the accuracy of the geometry values. For example, two adjacent polygons
that share a border with each other may not return true for ST_Intersects if the leftmost polygon has
border data a few meters to the left of the rightmost polygon.
2. Set the grid size to be small enough to represent the most accuracy in any of your data (10 centimeters,
in this case) and at least four times smaller than the tolerance, and set tolerance to represent the
distance to which your data is always accurate to (10 meters, in this case). This strategy means your
data is stored without losing any precision, and that predicates will give the expected result even
though the data is only accurate within 10 meters.
3. Set grid size and tolerance to the precision of your data (10 meters, in this case). This way your data is
snapped to within the precision of your data, but for data that is more accurate than 10 meters the
additional accuracy is lost.
In many cases predicates will give the expected results but in some cases they will not. For example, if
two points are within 10 centimeters of each other but near the midway point of the grid intersections,
one point will snap one way and the other point will snap the other way, resulting in the points being
about 10 meters apart. For this reason, setting grid size and tolerance to match the precision of your
data is not recommended in this case.

2.8.3 How Polygon Ring Orientation Works
Internally, the database server interprets polygons by looking at the orientation of the constituent rings.
As one travels a ring in the order of the defined points, the inside of the polygon is on the left side of the ring.
The same rules are applied in PLANAR and ROUND EARTH spatial reference systems. In most cases, outer
rings are in counter-clockwise orientation and interior rings are in the opposite (clockwise) orientation. The
exception is for rings that contain the north or south pole in ROUND EARTH.
By default, polygons are automatically reoriented if they are created with a different ring orientation than the
internal ring orientation.
For example, if you create a polygon and specify the points in a clockwise order Polygon((0 0, 5 10, 10 0,
0 0), (4 2, 4 4, 6 4, 6 2, 4 2)), the database server automatically rearranges the points to be in
counter-clockwise rotation, as follows: Polygon((0 0, 10 0, 5 10, 0 0), (4 2, 4 4, 6 4, 6 2, 4
2)).
If the inner ring was specified before the outer ring, the outer ring would appear as the first ring
In order for polygon reorientation to work in round-Earth spatial reference systems, polygons are limited to
160° in diameter.
2.8.4 How Geometry Interiors, Exteriors, and Boundaries

Work
The interior of a geometry is all points that are part of the geometry except the boundary.
The exterior of a geometry is all points that are not part of the geometry. This can include the space inside an
interior ring, for example in the case of a polygon with a hole. Similarly, the space both inside and outside a
linestring ring is considered the exterior.
The boundary of a geometry is what is returned by the ST_Boundary method.
Knowing the boundary of a geometry helps when comparing to another geometry to determine how the two
geometries are related. However, while all geometries have an interior and an exterior, not all geometries have
a boundary, nor are their boundaries always intuitive.

Here are some cases of geometries where the boundary may not be intuitive:
Point A point (such as A) has no boundary.
Lines and The boundary for lines and linestrings (B, C, D, E, F) are their endpoints. Geometries B, C,
linestrings and E have two end points for a boundary. Geometry D has four end points for a boundary,
and geometry F has four.
Polygon The boundary for a polygon (such as G) is its outer ring and any inner rings.
Rings A ring—a curve where the start point is the same as the end point and there are no self-
intersections (such as H)—has no boundary.
2.8.5 How Spatial Comparisons Work
There are two methods you can use to test whether a geometry is equal to another geometry: ST_Equals, and
ST_OrderingEquals. These methods perform the comparison differently, and return a different result.
ST_Equals The order in which points are specified does not matter, and point comparison takes
tolerance into account. Geometries are considered equal if they occupy the same
space, within tolerance. For example, if two linestrings occupy the same space, yet one
is defined with more points, they are still considered equal.
ST_OrderingEquals With ST_OrderingEquals, the two geometries must contain the same hierarchy of
objects with the exact same points in the same order to be considered equal under
ST_OrderingEquals. That is, the two geometries must be exactly the same.
To illustrate the difference in results when comparisons are made using ST_Equals versus ST_OrderingEquals,
consider the following lines. ST_Equals considers them all equal (assuming line C is within tolerance).
However, ST_OrderingEquals does not consider any of them equal.
2.8.6 How Spatial Relationships Work
For best performance, use methods like ST_Within, or ST_Touches to test single, specific relationships
between geometries. However, if you have more than one relationship to test, ST_Relate can be a better

method, since you can test for several relationships at once. ST_Relate is also good when you want to test for a
different interpretation of a predicate.
The most common use of ST_Relate is as a predicate, where you specify the exact relationship(s) to test for.
However, you can also use ST_Relate to determine all possible relationships between two geometries.
Predicate use of ST_Relate
ST_Relate assesses how geometries are related by performing intersection tests of their interiors, boundaries,
and exteriors. The relationship between the geometries is then described in a 9-character string in DE-9IM
(Dimensionally Extended 9 Intersection Model) format, where each character of the string represents the
dimension of the result of an intersection test.
When you use ST_Relate as a predicate, you pass a DE-9IM string reflecting intersection results to test for. If
the geometries satisfy the conditions in the DE-9IM string you specified, then ST_Relate returns a 1. If the
conditions are not satisfied, then 0 is returned. If either or both of the geometries is NULL, then NULL is
returned.
The 9-character DE-9IM string is a flattened representation of a pair-wise matrix of the intersection tests
between interiors, boundaries, and exteriors. The next table shows the 9 intersection tests in the order they
are performed: left to right, top to bottom:
Table 2:
g2 interior g2 boundary g2 exterior
g1 interior Interior(g1) ∩ Interior(g1) ∩ Interior(g1) ∩

Interior( g2) Boundary( g2) Exterior( g2)
g1 boundary Boundary(g1) ∩ Boundary(g1) ∩ Boundary(g1) ∩

g1 exterior Exterior(g1) ∩ Exterior(g1) ∩ Exterior(g1) ∩

When you specify the DE-9IM string, you can specify *, 0, 1, 2, T, or F for any of the 9 characters. These values
refer to the number of dimensions of the geometry created by the intersection.
Table 3:
When you specify: The intersection test result must return:
T one of: 0, 1, 2 (an intersection of any dimension)
F -1
* -1, 0, 1, 2 (any value)
0 0
1 1
2 2
Suppose you want to test whether a geometry is within another geometry using ST_Relate and a custom
DE-9IM string for the within predicate:
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon(( 2 3, 8 3, 4 8, 2 3 ))').

ST_Relate(NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon((-3 3, 3 3, 3 6, -3 6, -3 3))'), 'T*F**F***' )
FROM dummy;

This is equivalent to asking ST_Relate to look for the following conditions when performing the intersection
tests:
Table 4:
g1 interior one of: 0, 1, 2 one of: 0, 1, 2, -1 -1
g1 boundary one of: 0, 1, 2, -1 one of: 0, 1, 2, -1 -1
g1 exterior one of: 0, 1, 2, -1 one of: 0, 1, 2, -1 one of: 0, 1, 2, -1
When you execute the query, however, ST_Relate returns 0 indicating that the first geometry is not within the
second geometry.
Non-predicate use of ST_Relate
The non-predicate use of ST_Relate returns the full relationship between two geometries.
For example, suppose you have the same two geometries used in the previous example and you want to know
how they are related. You would execute the following statement in Interactive SQL to return the DE-9IM string
defining their relationship.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon(( 2 3, 8 3, 4 8, 2 3 ))').

ST_Relate(NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon((-3 3, 3 3, 3 6, -3 6, -3 3))')) FROM dummy;
ST_Relate returns the DE-9IM string, 212111212.
The matrix view of this value shows that there are many points of intersection:
Table 5:
g1 interior 2 1 2
g1 boundary 1 1 1
g1 exterior 2 1 2
2.8.7 How Spatial Dimensions Work
As well as having distinct properties of its own, each of the geometry subtypes inherits properties from the
ST_Geometry supertype.
A geometry subtype has one of the following dimensional values:
● -1 – A value of -1 indicates that the geometry is empty (it does not contain any points).
● 0 – A value of 0 indicates the geometry has no length or area. The subtypes ST_Point and ST_MultiPoint
have dimensional values of 0. A point represents a geometric feature that can be represented by a single
pair of coordinates, and a cluster of unconnected points represents a multipoint feature.
● 1 – A value of 1 indicates the geometry has length but no area. The set of subtypes that have a dimension
of 1 is ST_LineString, or collection types containing this type. In GIS data, these geometries of dimension 1
are used to define linear features such as streams, branching river systems, and road segments.
● 2 – A value of 2 indicates the geometry has area. The set of subtypes that have a dimension of 2 are
subtypes of ST_Surface (ST_Polygon), or collection types containing these types. Polygons and

multipolygons represent geometric features with perimeters that enclose a defined area such as lakes or
parks.
The dimension of a geometry is not related to the number of coordinate dimensions of each point in a
geometry.
A single ST_GeometryCollection can contain geometries of different dimensions, and the highest dimension
geometry is returned.
2.9 SpatialShapes Table
Several examples in this documentation refer to spatial shapes. The following table is used in those examples
to further explain some functions.
You can use the following syntax to create a test table:
CREATE COLUMN TABLE SpatialShapes

(
ShapeID integer,
shape ST_GEOMETRY
);
-- a set of points
INSERT INTO SpatialShapes VALUES(1, NEW ST_POINT('POINT(2.5 3.0)'));
INSERT INTO SpatialShapes VALUES(5, NEW ST_POINT());
-- a set of linestrings
INSERT INTO SpatialShapes VALUES(6, NEW ST_LINESTRING('LINESTRING(3.0 3.0, 5.0
4.0, 6.0 3.0)'));
5.0, 7.0 4.0)'));
7.0)'));
5.0)'));
INSERT INTO SpatialShapes VALUES(10, NEW ST_LINESTRING());
-- a set of polygons
INSERT INTO SpatialShapes VALUES(11, NEW ST_POLYGON('POLYGON((6.0 7.0, 10.0 3.0,
10.0 10.0, 6.0 7.0))'));
6.0 5.0, 4.0 5.0))'));
6.0 6.0, 6.0 1.0, 1.0 1.0))'));
5.0 4.0, 5.0 3.0, 1.0 3.0))'));
INSERT INTO SpatialShapes VALUES(15, NEW ST_POLYGON());
Note
The ST_Geometry/ST_Point column is using the default spatial reference system 0 (Euclidean space). If
you want to use a different spatial reference system (for instance 1000004326) you have to specify it
explicitly at table creation time:
CREATE COLUMN TABLE SpatialShapes

(
ShapeID integer,
shape ST_GEOMETRY(1000004326)

);
Note
In descriptions of the methods for accessing and manipulatig spatial data there are several examples based
on the entries in the table SpatialShapes. So make sure the table SpatialShapes exists, when you use
these examples.

3 Accessing and Manipulating Spatial Data
This section describes the types, methods, and constructors you can use to access, manipulate, and analyze
spatial data. The spatial data types can be considered like data types or classes. Each spatial data type has
associated methods and constructors you use to access the data.
3.1 ST_Geometry Type
The ST_Geometry type is the maximal supertype of the geometry type hierarchy.
Direct subtypes
ST_CircularString [page 107]

ST_GeometryCollection [page 111]
ST_LineString [page 116]
ST_MultiLineString [page 126]
ST_MultiPoint [page 132]
ST_MultiPolygon [page 136]
ST_Point [page 141]
ST_Polygon [page 148]
Methods
● Methods of ST_Geometry:
Table 6:
ST_AsBinary [page 36] ST_AsEWKB [page 37] ST_AsEWKT [page 37] ST_AsGeoJSON [page
38]
ST_AsSVG [page 39] ST_AsSVGAggr [page 40] ST_AsText [page 41] ST_AsWKB [page 42]
ST_AsWKT [page 43] ST_Boundary [page 44] ST_Buffer [page 44] ST_Contains [page 46]
ST_ConvexHull [page 48] ST_ConvexHullAggr [page ST_CoordDim [page 50] ST_CoveredBy [page 52]
49]
ST_Covers [page 53] ST_Crosses [page 55] ST_Difference [page 56] ST_Dimension [page 57]

34 PUBLIC Accessing and Manipulating Spatial Data
ST_Disjoint [page 58] ST_Distance [page 60] ST_Envelope [page 61] ST_EnvelopeAggr [page
62]
ST_Equals [page 63] ST_GeomFromEWKB [page ST_GeomFromEWKT [page ST_GeomFromText [page

64] 65] 66]
ST_GeomFromWKB [page ST_GeomFromWKT [page ST_GeometryType [page ST_Intersection [page 71]

68] 69] 70]
ST_Intersects [page 72] ST_IntersectionAggr [page ST_IntersectsFilter [page ST_IntersectsRect [page

73] 74] 74]
ST_Is3D [page 77] ST_IsEmpty [page 78] ST_IsMeasured [page 79] ST_IsSimple [page 79]
ST_IsValid [page 80] ST_MMax [page 81] ST_MMin [page 81] ST_NumInteriorRings [page
83]
ST_NumInteriorRing [page ST_OrderingEquals [page ST_Overlaps [page 85] ST_Perimeter [page 87]
82] 83]
ST_PointOnSurface [page ST_Relate [page 89] ST_SRID [page 90] ST_SRID(INT) [page 91]
88]
ST_SnapToGrid [page 92] ST_SymDifference [page ST_Touches [page 94] ST_Transform [page 96]
93]
ST_Union [page 97] ST_UnionAggr [page 98] ST_Within [page 99] ST_WithinDistance [page
100]
ST_XMax [page 102] ST_XMin [page 103] ST_YMax [page 104] ST_YMin [page 105]
ST_ZMax [page 105] ST_ZMin [page 106]
Remarks
The ST_Geometry type is the maximal supertype of the geometry type hierarchy. The ST_Geometry type
supports methods that can be applied to any spatial value. The ST_Geometry type cannot be instantiated;
instead, a subtype should be instantiated. When working with original formats (WKT or WKB), you can use
methods such as ST_GeomFromText/ST_GeomFromWKB to instantiate the appropriate concrete type
representing the value in the original format.
All of the values in an ST_Geometry value are in the same spatial reference system. The ST_SRID method can
be used to retrieve the spatial reference system associated with the value.
Columns of type ST_Geometry or any of its subtypes cannot be included in a primary key, unique index, or
unique constraint.
Related Information
ST_SRID Method [page 90]

Accessing and Manipulating Spatial Data PUBLIC 35
3.1.1 ST_AsBinary Method
Returns the WKB representation of an ST_Geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_AsBinary()
Returns
BLOB (Binary Large Object) Returns the WKB representation of the <geometry-expression>.
Remarks
The ST_AsBinary method returns a binary string representing the geometry in WKB format.
Example
The following returns the result 0101000000000000000000F03F0000000000000040.
SELECT NEW ST_Point( 1.0, 2.0 ).ST_AsBinary() FROM dummy;
Related Information
ST_AsWKB Method [page 42]

3.1.2 ST_AsEWKB Method
Returns the extended WKB representation of an ST_Geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_AsEWKB()
Returns
BLOB (Binary Large Object) Returns a binary string containing the extended WKB representation of the
<geometry-expression>.
Remarks
The ST_AsEWKB method returns a binary string representing the geometry in extended WKB format.
Example
The following example returns the result 01010000200000000000000000000000000000000000000000.
SELECT NEW ST_Point(0.0,0.0).ST_AsEWKB() FROM dummy;
3.1.3 ST_AsEWKT Method
Returns the extended WKT representation of an ST_Geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_AsEWKT()

Returns
CLOB (Character Large Object) Returns a string containing the extended WKT representation of the
Remarks
The ST_AsEWKT method returns a string representing the geometry in extended WKT format.
Example
The following example returns the result SRID=0;POINT (2 4).
SELECT NEW ST_Point(2.0,4.0).ST_AsEWKT() FROM dummy;
3.1.4 ST_AsGeoJSON Method
Returns a string representing a geometry in JSON format.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_AsGeoJSON()
Returns
CLOB (Character Large Object) Returns the GeoJSON representation of the <geometry-expression>.
Remarks
The GeoJSON standard defines a geospatial interchange format based on the JavaScript Object Notation
(JSON). This format is suited to web-based applications and it can provide a format that is more concise and
easier to interpret than WKT or WKB. See http://geojson.org/geojson-spec.html .
The ST_AsGeoJSON method returns a text string representing the geometry.

Example
The following returns the result {"type": "Point", "coordinates":
[1.000000000000000,2.000000000000000]}.
SELECT NEW ST_Point( 1.0, 2.0 ).ST_AsGeoJSON() FROM dummy;
3.1.5 ST_AsSVG Method
Returns an SVG figure representing a geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_AsSVG([<parameter>[,...])
Parameters
Table 7:
Name Type Description
parameter VARCHAR(128) A key value pair defining the parame

ters to use when converting the geome
try-expression to an SVG representa
tion.
The following parameters can be specified:
Table 8:
Parameter Values Description
Approximate <yes|no> Defines, if the geometry should have

reduced details
Attribute <text> Additional SVG attributes
DecimalDigits <integer> Precision of coordinate
PathDataOnly <yes|no> Only paths are created
RandomFill <yes|no> Randomly assign fill color

Parameter Values Description
Relative <yes|no> Start point of the plot
Returns
CLOB (Character Large Object) Returns an SVG rendering of the <geometry-expression>.
Example
The following returns a complete SVG document with polygons filled with random colors.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon( 'Polygon(( 0 0, 0 20, 60 10, 0 0 ))' ).ST_AsSVG() FROM

dummy;
The following returns a complete SVG document with polygons with no fill and precision 3.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon( 'Polygon(( 0 0, 0 20, 60 10, 0

0 ))' ).ST_AsSVG(RandomFill=>'no',DecimalDigits=>3) FROM dummy;
The following returns a complete SVG document with polygons filled with random colors and precision 3.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon( 'Polygon(( 0 0, 0 20, 60 10, 0

0 ))' ).ST_AsSVG(RandomFill=>'yes',DecimalDigits=>3) FROM dummy;
3.1.6 ST_AsSVGAggr Method
Returns a complete or partial SVG document which renders the geometries in a group.
Syntax
ST_AsSVGAggr(<geometry_column>)

Parameters
Table 9:
geometry_column ST_Geometry The geometry value to contribute to

the SVG figure. Typically this is a col
umn.
Returns
LONG VARCHAR Returns a complete or partial SVG document which renders the geometries in a group.
Example
The following returns a complete SVG document with polygons filled with random colors.
SELECT ST_AsSVGAggr(Shape) FROM SpatialShapes;
3.1.7 ST_AsText Method
Returns the text representation of an ST_Geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_AsText()
Returns
CLOB (Character Large Object) Returns the text representation of the <geometry-expression>.
Remarks
The ST_AsText method returns a text string representing the geometry in well known text format (WKT).

Example
The following returns the result POINT (1 2).
SELECT NEW ST_Point( 1.0, 2.0 ).ST_AsText() FROM dummy;
Related Information
ST_AsWKT Method [page 43]
3.1.8 ST_AsWKB Method
Returns the WKB representation of an ST_Geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_AsWKB()
Returns
BLOB (Binary Large Object) Returns the WKB representation of the <geometry-expression>.
Remarks
The ST_AsWKB method returns a binary string representing the geometry in WKB format.
Example
The following returns the result 0101000000000000000000F03F0000000000000040.
SELECT NEW ST_Point( 1.0, 2.0 ).ST_AsWKB() FROM dummy;

Related Information
ST_AsBinary Method [page 36]
3.1.9 ST_AsWKT Method
Returns the WKT representation of an ST_Geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_AsWKT()
Returns
CLOB (Character Large Object) Returns the WKT representation of the <geometry-expression>.
Remarks
The ST_AsWKT method returns a text string representing the geometry in well known text format (WKT).
Example
The following returns the result POINT (1 2).
SELECT NEW ST_Point( 1.0, 2.0 ).ST_AsWKT() FROM dummy;
Related Information
ST_AsText Method [page 41]

3.1.10 ST_Boundary Method
Returns the boundary of the geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Boundary()
Returns
ST_Geometry Returns a geometry value representing the boundary of the <geometry-expression>.
Example
The following example constructs a geometry collection containing a polygon and a linestring and returns
the boundary for the collection: GEOMETRYCOLLECTION (LINESTRING (0 0,3 0,3 3,0 3,0
0),POINT (0 7),POINT (4 4)).
SELECT NEW ST_GeometryCollection('GeometryCollection (Polygon ((0 0, 3 0, 3 3,

0 3, 0 0)), LineString (0 7, 0 4, 4 4))').ST_Boundary().ST_AsText() FROM dummy;
3.1.11 ST_Buffer Method
Returns the ST_Geometry value that represents all points whose distance from any point of an ST_Geometry
value is less than or equal to a specified distance in the given units.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Buffer(<distance>[, <unit_name>])

Parameters
Table 10:
distance DOUBLE The distance the buffer should be from

the geometry value.
unit_name VARCHAR(128) The units in which the distance param

eter should be interpreted. Defaults to
the unit of the spatial reference sys
tem. The unit name must match the
UNIT_NAME column of a row in the
ST_UNITS_OF_MEASURE view where
UNIT_TYPE is 'LINEAR'.
Returns
ST_Geometry Returns the ST_Geometry value representing all points within the specified distance of the
The spatial reference system identifier of the result is the same as the spatial reference
system of the <geometry-expression>.
Remarks
The ST_Buffer method generates a geometry that expands a geometry by the specified distance. This method
can be used, for example, to find all points in geometry A that are within a specified distance of geometry B.
The distance parameter must be a positive value. This method will return an error if distance is negative. If the
distance parameter is equal to 0, the original geometry is returned. The ST_Buffer method is best used only
when the actual buffer geometry is required. Determining whether two geometries are within a specified
distance of each other should be done using ST_WithinDistance instead.
Note
If the <geometry-expression> is an empty geometry (ST_IsEmpty()=1), then this method returns NULL.
Note
This method cannot be used with geometries in round-Earth spatial reference systems.

Example
The following example shows the buffer of radius 1 computed on a polygon with 2 rings.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon((1 2, 10 2, 10 10, 1 2),(9 3, 5 3, 9 9, 9

3))').ST_Buffer( 1.0 ) FROM dummy;
The following example returns the buffer of radius 1 around a single point (1, 2). The buffer of a single point
is a polygon which is an approximation of a circle.
SELECT NEW ST_Point(1,2).ST_Buffer(1.0).ST_AsText() FROM dummy;
The following examples returns the buffer of a straight line in well known binary format:
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(1 2, 2 2)').ST_Buffer(1.0) FROM dummy;
The following example determines which part of the line from (0, 2) to (4, 2) is within 1 unit of the point (2,
2.5). The result is LINESTRING (1.137272 2,2.863421 2).
SELECT NEW ST_Point(2, 2.5).ST_Buffer(1.0).ST_Intersection( NEW

ST_LineString('Linestring(0 2, 4 2)')).ST_AsText() FROM dummy;
3.1.12 ST_Contains Method
Tests if a geometry value spatially contains another geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Contains(<geo2>)
Parameters
Table 11:
geo2 ST_Geometry The other geometry value that is to be

compared to the <geometry-
expression>.

Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the <geometry-expression> contains <geo2>, otherwise 0. If <geo2> is NULL, then
NULL is returned.
Remarks
The ST_Contains method tests if the <geometry-expression> completely contains <geo2> and there is one
or more interior points of <geo2> that lies in the interior of the <geometry-expression>.
<geometry-expression>.ST_Contains( <geo2> ) is equivalent to <geo2>.ST_Within( <geometry-

expression> ).
The ST_Contains and ST_Covers methods are similar. The difference is that ST_Covers does not require
intersecting interior points.
Note
This method cannot be used with geometries in round-Earth spatial reference system.
Example
The following example tests if a polygon contains a point. The polygon completely contains the point, and
the interior of the point (the point itself) intersects the interior of the polygon, so the example returns 1.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon( 'Polygon(( 0 0, 2 0, 1 2, 0 0 ))' ).ST_Contains( NEW

ST_Point( 1, 1 ) ) FROM dummy;
The following example tests if a polygon contains a line. The polygon completely contains the line, but the
interior of the line and the interior of the polygon do not intersect (the line only intersects the polygon on the
polygon's boundary, and the boundary is not part of the interior), so the example returns 0. If ST_Covers
was used in place of ST_Contains, ST_Covers would return 1.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon( 'Polygon(( 0 0, 2 0, 1 2, 0 0 ))' ).ST_Contains( NEW

ST_LineString( 'LineString( 0 0, 1 0 )' ) ) FROM dummy;

3.1.13 ST_ConvexHull Method
Returns the convex hull of the geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_ConvexHull()
Returns
ST_Geometry If the geometry value is NULL or an empty value, then NULL is returned. Otherwise, the
convex hull of the geometry value is returned.
Remarks
The convex hull of a geometry is the smallest convex geometry that contains all of the points in the geometry.
The convex hull may be visualized by imagining an elastic band stretched to enclose all of the points in the
geometry. When released, the elastic band takes the shape of the convex hull.
If the geometry consists of a single point, the point is returned. If all of the points of the geometry lie on a single
straight line segment, a linestring is returned. Otherwise, a convex polygon is returned.
The convex hull can serve as an approximation of the original geometry. When testing a spatial relationship,
the convex hull can serve as a quick pre-filter because if there is no spatial intersection with the convex hull
then there can be no intersection with the original geometry.
Note
Example
The following example shows the convex hull computed from 10 points. The resulting hull is the result
Polygon ((1 1, 7 2, 9 3, 6 9, 4 9, 1 5, 1 1)).

SELECT NEW ST_MultiPoint('MultiPoint( (1 1), (2 2), (5 3), (7 2), (9 3), (8
4), (6 6), (6 9), (4 9), (1 5) )').ST_ConvexHull().ST_AsText() FROM dummy;
The following example returns the single point (0,0). The convex hull of a single point is a point.
SELECT NEW ST_Point(0,0).ST_ConvexHull().ST_AsText() FROM dummy;
The following example returns the result LineString (0 0, 3 3). The convex hull of a single straight
line is a linestring with a single segment.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0,1 1,2 2,3

3)').ST_ConvexHull().ST_AsText() FROM dummy;
3.1.14 ST_ConvexHullAggr Method
Returns the convex hull for all of the geometries in a group.
Syntax
ST_ConvexHullAggr(<geometry_column>)

Parameters
Table 12:
geometry_column ST_Geometry The geometry values to generate the

convex hull. This is normally a column.
Returns
ST_Geometry Returns the convex hull for all the geometries in a group.
Example
The following example returns: POLYGON ((10 3,10 10,6 7,4 5,5 3,10 3)).
SELECT ST_ConvexHullAggr( Shape ).ST_AsText() FROM SpatialShapes WHERE ShapeID

in (11, 12);
3.1.15 ST_CoordDim Method
Returns the number of coordinate dimensions stored with each point of the ST_Geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_CoordDim()
Returns
SMALLINT Returns a value between 2 and 4 indicating the number of coordinate dimensions stored with
each point of the ST_Geometry value.
Remarks
The ST_CoordDim method returns the number of coordinates stored within each point in the geometry. All
geometries have at least two coordinate dimensions. For geographic spatial reference systems, these are the

latitude and longitude of the point. For other spatial reference system, these coordinates are the X and Y
positions of the point.
Geometries can optionally have Z and M values associated with each of the points in the geometry. These
additional coordinate values are not considered when computing spatial relations or set operations, but they
can be used to record additional information. For example, the measure value (M) can be used to record the
pollution at various points within a geometry. The Z value usually is used to indicate elevation, but that
interpretation is not imposed by the database server.
The following values may be returned by the ST_CoordDim method:
● 2 - The geometry contains only two coordinates (either latitude/longitude or X/Y).

● 3 - The geometry contains one additional coordinate (either Z or M) for each point.
● 4 - The geometry contains two additional coordinate (both Z and M) for each point.
Note
Spatial operations that combine geometries using set operations do not preserve any Z or M values
associated with the points of the geometry.
Note
By default, ST_CoordDim uses the original format for a geometry, if it is available. Otherwise, the internal
format is used. See the STORAGE FORMAT clause of the CREATE SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM
statement.
Example
SELECT NEW ST_Point(1.0, 1.0).ST_CoordDim() FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_Point('Point M (1 1 1)' ).ST_CoordDim() FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_Point('Point ZM (1 1 1 1)' ).ST_CoordDim() FROM dummy;
Related Information
CREATE SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM Statement [page 185]

3.1.16 ST_CoveredBy Method
Tests if a geometry value is spatially covered by another geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_CoveredBy(<geo2>)
Parameters
Table 13:

expression>.
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the <geometry-expression> covers <geo2>, otherwise 0. If <geo2> is NULL, then
NULL is returned.
Remarks
The ST_CoveredBy method tests if the <geometry-expression> is completely covered by <geo2>.
<geometry-expression>.ST_CoveredBy( <geo2> ) is equivalent to <geo2>.ST_Covers( <geometry-

expression> ).
This predicate is similar to ST_Within except for one subtle difference. The ST_Within predicate requires that
one or more interior points of the <geometry-expression> lie in the interior of <geo2>. For
ST_CoveredBy(), the method returns 1 if no point of the <geometry-expression> lies outside of <geo2>,
regardless of whether interior points of the two geometries intersect. ST_CoveredBy can be used with
geometries in round-Earth spatial reference systems.

Example
The following example tests if a point is covered by a polygon. The point is completely covered by the
polygon so the example returns 1.
SELECT NEW ST_Point( 1, 1 ).ST_CoveredBy( NEW

ST_Polygon( 'Polygon(( 0 0, 2 0, 1 2, 0 0 ))' ) ) FROM dummy;
The following example tests if a line is covered by a polygon. The line is completely covered by the polygon
so the example returns 1. If ST_Within was used in place of ST_CoveredBy, ST_Within would return 0.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString( 0 0, 1 0 )' ).ST_CoveredBy( NEW

The following example lists the ShapeIDs where the given point is within the Shape geometry. The following
example lists the ShapeIDs where the given point is within the Shape geometry. This example returns the
results 7, 13, and 14.
SELECT ShapeID FROM SpatialShapes WHERE NEW ST_Point( 4,

4 ).ST_CoveredBy( Shape ) = 1 ORDER BY ShapeID;
3.1.17 ST_Covers Method
Tests if a geometry value spatially covers another geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Covers(<geo2>)
Parameters
Table 14:

expression>.

Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the <geometry-expression> covers <geo2>, otherwise 0. If <geo2> is NULL, then
NULL is returned.
Remarks
The ST_Covers method tests if the <geometry-expression> completely covers <geo2>. <geometry-
expression>.ST_Covers( <geo2> ) is equivalent to <geo2>.ST_CoveredBy( <geometry-expression> ).
This predicate is similar to ST_Contains except for one subtle difference. The ST_Contains predicate requires
that one or more interior points of <geo2> lie in the interior of the geometry-expression. For ST_Covers(), the
method returns 1 if no point of <geo2> lies outside of the geometry-expression. Also, ST_Covers can be used
with geometries in round-Earth spatial reference systems, while ST_Contains cannot.
Note
If the <geometry-expression> contains circularstrings, then these are interpolated to line strings.
Example
The following example tests if a polygon covers a point. The polygon completely covers the point so the
example returns 1.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon( 'Polygon(( 0 0, 2 0, 1 2, 0 0 ))' )

.ST_Covers( NEW ST_Point( 1, 1 ) ) FROM dummy;
The following example tests if a polygon covers a line. The polygon completely covers the line so the
example returns 1. If ST_Contains was used in place of ST_Covers, ST_Contains would return 0.

.ST_Covers( NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString( 0 0, 1 0 )' ) ) FROM dummy;
The following example lists the ShapeIDs where the given polygon covers each Shape geometry. The
following example lists the ShapeIDs where the given polygon covers each Shape geometry. This example
returns the result 1.
SELECT ShapeID FROM SpatialShapes WHERE NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon ((-9 -9, 9 -9,
0 9, -9 -9), (-2 -2, -2 -1, -1 -1, -1 -2, -2 -2))').ST_Covers( Shape ) = 1
ORDER BY ShapeID;

3.1.18 ST_Crosses Method
Tests if a geometry value crosses another geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Crosses(<geo2>)
Parameters
Table 15:

expression>.
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the <geometry-expression> crosses <geo2>, otherwise 0. Returns NULL if

<geometry-expression> is a polygon or multipolygon, or if <geo2> is a point or multipoint. If
<geo2> is NULL, then NULL is returned.
Remarks
Tests if a geometry value crosses another geometry value.
When both <geometry-expression> and <geo2> are linestrings or multilinestrings, they cross each other if
their interiors intersect at one or more points. If the intersection results in a linestring or multilinestring, the
geometries do not cross. If all of the intersecting points are boundary points, the geometries do not cross.
When <geometry-expression> has lower dimension than <geo2>, then <geometry-expression> crosses
<geo2> if part of <geometry-expression> is on the interior of <geo2> and part of <geometry-
expression> is on the exterior of <geo2>.
More precisely, <geometry-expression>.ST_Crosses( <geo2> ) returns 1 when the following is TRUE:
( <geometry-expression>.ST_Dimension() = 1 AND <geo2>.ST_Dimension() = 1 AND

<geometry-expression>.ST_Relate( <geo2>, '0********' ) = 1 ) OR( <geometry-

expression>.ST_Dimension() < <geo2>.ST_Dimension() AND <geometry-
expression>.ST_Relate( <geo2>, 'T*T******' ) = 1 )
Example
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString( 0 0, 2 2 )' ).ST_Crosses( NEW

The following examples returns the result 0 because the interiors of the two lines do not intersect (the only
intersection is at the first linestring boundary).
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString( 0 1, 2 1 )' ).ST_Crosses( NEW

The following example returns NULL because the first geometry is a polygon.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon( 'Polygon(( 0 0, 0 1, 1 0, 0 0))' ).ST_Crosses( NEW

3.1.19 ST_Difference Method
Returns the geometry value that represents the point set difference of two geometries.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Difference(<geo2>)
Parameters
Table 16:

subtracted from the <geometry-
expression>.

Returns
ST_Geometry Returns the geometry value that represents the point set difference of two geometries.
Remarks
The ST_Difference method finds the spatial difference of two geometries. A point is included in the result if it is
present in the geometry-expression but not present in <geo2>.
Unlike other spatial set operations (ST_Union, ST_Intersection, and ST_SymDifference), the ST_Difference
method is not symmetric: the method can give a different answer for A.ST_Difference( B ) and
B.ST_Difference( A ).
Example
The following example shows the difference between the two objects.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon( 'Polygon( (-1 -0.25, 1 -0.25, 1 2.25, -1 2.25, -1

-0.25) )' ).ST_Difference(NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon ((-5 -5, 5 -5, 0 5, -5 -5),
(-2 -2, -2 0, 2 0, 2 -2, -2 -2))')) from dummy;
3.1.20 ST_Dimension Method
Returns the dimension of the ST_Geometry value. Points have dimension 0, lines have dimension 1, and
polygons have dimension 2. Any empty geometry has dimension -1.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Dimension()
Returns
SMALLINT Returns the dimension of the <geometry-expression> as a SMALLINT between -1 and 2.

Remarks
The ST_Dimension method returns the spatial dimension occupied by a geometry. The following values may
be returned:
-1 The geometry corresponds to the empty set.
0 The geometry consists only of individual points (for example, an ST_Point or ST_MultiPoint).
1 The geometry contains at least one linestring and no polygons (for example, an ST_LineString).
2 The geometry consists of at least one polygon (for example, an ST_Polygon or ST_MultiPolygon).
When computing the dimension of a collection, the largest dimension of any element is returned. For example,
if a geometry collection contains a linestring and a point, ST_Dimension returns 1 for the collection.
Example
SELECT NEW ST_Point(1.0,1.0).ST_Dimension() FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString( 0 0, 1 1)' ).ST_Dimension() FROM dummy;
3.1.21 ST_Disjoint Method
Test if a geometry value is spatially disjoint from another value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Disjoint(<geo2>)

Parameters
Table 17:

expression>.
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the geometry-expression is spatially disjoint from <geo2>, otherwise 0. If <geo2> is
NULL, then NULL is returned.
Remarks
Tests if a geometry value is spatially disjoint from another value. Two geometries are disjoint if their
intersection is empty. In other words, they are disjoint if there is no point anywhere in geometry-expression
that is also in <geo2>."
<geometry-expression>.ST_Disjoint( <geo2> ) = 1 is equivalent to <geometry-

expression>.ST_Intersects( <geo2> ) = 0.
Note
Example
The following example returns a result with one row for each shape that has no points in common with the
specified triangle.
SELECT ShapeID FROM SpatialShapes WHERE

NEW ST_Polygon( 'Polygon((0 0, 5 0, 0 5, 0 0))' ).ST_Disjoint( Shape ) = 1
ORDER BY ShapeID;
The example returns the following SHAPEIDs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15.

3.1.22 ST_Distance Method
Returns the smallest distance between the <geometry-expression> and the specified geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Distance(<geo2>,<unit_name>)
Parameters
Table 18:
geo2 ST_Geometry The other geometry value whose dis

tance is to be measured from the

Returns
DOUBLE Returns the smallest distance between the <geometry-expression> and <geo2>. If either
<geometry-expression> or <geo2> is empty, then NULL is returned.
Remarks
The ST_Distance method computes the shortest distance between two geometries. For planar spatial
reference systems, the distance is calculated as the Cartesian distance within the plane, computed in the
linear units of measure for the associated spatial reference system. For round-Earth spatial reference
systems, the distance is computed taking the curvature of the Earth's surface into account using the ellipsoid
parameters in the spatial reference system definition.

Example
The following returns the result 5.
SELECT NEW ST_Point(0, 0).ST_Distance( NEW ST_Point(5, 0) ) FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0, 10 0)').ST_Distance( NEW ST_Point(0,

5) ) FROM dummy;
The following returns the result 44,553338819890925.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon((-3 3, 3 3, 3 6, -3 6, -3

3))').ST_Distance( NEW ST_Point(10, 50) ) FROM dummy;
The following returns the distance between SAP headquarter to the Kalipeh (SRS 4326):
352,6532242777006 (meter).
SELECT NEW ST_Point('POINT (8.641612 49.293703)', 4326).ST_Distance(NEW

ST_Point('POINT (8.645850 49.295243)', 4326), 'meter') FROM dummy;
385,66625577176353 (yard).

ST_Point('POINT (8.645850 49.295243)', 4326), 'yard') FROM dummy;
501,0544104319325 (meter).

ST_Point('POINT (8.645850 49.295243)', 1000004326), 'meter') FROM dummy;
547,9597664391213 (yard).

ST_Point('POINT (8.645850 49.295243)', 1000004326), 'yard') FROM dummy;
3.1.23 ST_Envelope Method
Returns the bounding rectangle for the geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Envelope()

Returns
ST_Polygon Returns a polygon that is the bounding rectangle for the <geometry-expression>.
The spatial reference system identifier of the result is the same as the spatial reference system
of the <geometry-expression>.
Remarks
The ST_Envelope method constructs a polygon that is an axis-aligned bounding rectangle for the <geometry-
expression>. The envelope covers the entire geometry, and it can be used as a simple approximation for the
geometry.
Note
Example
The following returns the result Polygon ((0 0, 1 0, 1 1, 0 1, 0 0)) in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0, 1 1)').ST_Envelope() FROM dummy;
3.1.24 ST_EnvelopeAggr Method
Returns the bounding rectangle for all of the geometries in a group.
Syntax
ST_EnvelopeAggr(<geometry_column>)

Parameters
Table 19:

bounding rectangle. This is normally a
column.
Returns
ST_Polygon Returns a polygon that is the bounding rectangle for all the geometries in a group.
Example
The following example returns POLYGON ((2.5 3,9 3,9 7,2.5 7,2.5 3)).
SELECT ST_EnvelopeAggr( Shape ).ST_AsText() FROM SpatialShapes WHERE ShapeID

<= 10;
3.1.25 ST_Equals Method
Tests if an ST_Geometry value is spatially equal to another ST_Geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Equals(<geo2>)
Parameters
Table 20:

expression>.

Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the two geometry values are spatially equal, otherwise 0. If <geo2> is NULL, then
NULL is returned.
Remarks
Tests if an ST_Geometry value is equal to another ST_Geometry value.
The test for spatial equality is performed by first comparing the bounding rectangles of the two geometries. If
they are not equal within tolerance, the two geometries are considered not to be equal, and 0 is returned.
Otherwise, the database server returns 1 if <geometry-expression>.ST_SymDifference( geo2 ) is the
empty set, otherwise it returns 0.
The SQL/MM standard defines ST_Equals only in terms of ST_SymDifference, without an additional bounding
box comparison. There are some geometries that generate an empty result with ST_SymDifference while their
bounding boxes are not equal. These geometries would be considered equal by the SQL/MM standard but are
not considered equal in the software. This difference can arise if one or both geometries contain spikes or
punctures.
Two geometry values can be considered equal even though they have different representations. For example,
two linestrings may have opposite orientations but contain the same set of points in space. These two
linestrings are considered equal by ST_Equals but not by ST_OrderingEquals.
ST_Equals may be limited by the resolution of the spatial reference system or the accuracy of the data.
Example
The following example returns the result 1, indicating that the two linestrings are equal even though they
contain a different number of points specified in a different order, and the intermediate point is not exactly
on the line. The intermediate point is about 3.33e-7 away from the line with only two points, but that
distance less than the tolerance 1e-6 for the "Default" spatial reference system (SRID 0).
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString( 0 0, 0.333333 1, 1

3 )' ).ST_Equals( NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString( 1 3, 0 0 )' ) ) FROM dummy;
3.1.26 ST_GeomFromEWKB Method
Constructs a geometry from a string representation.
Syntax
ST_GeomFromEWKB(<ewkb>)

Parameters
Table 21:
ewkb VARBINARY A string containing the extended WKB

representation of a geometry.
Returns
ST_Geometry Returns a geometry value of the appropriate type based on the source string.
Remarks
Parses a string containing an extended WKB representation of a geometry and creates a geometry value of the
appropriate type. This method is used by the server when evaluating a cast from a hexadecimal character
string to a geometry type.
Example
The following example returns the result POINT (0 0).
SELECT
ST_GeomFromEWKB(x'01010000200000000000000000000000000000000000000000').ST_AsTex
t() FROM dummy;
3.1.27 ST_GeomFromEWKT Method
Syntax
ST_GeomFromEWKT(<wkt>)

Parameters
Table 22:
wkt VARCHAR A string containing the extended WKT

representation of a geometry value.
Returns
Remarks
Parses a string containing an extended WKT representation of a geometry and creates a geometry value of the
appropriate type. This method is used by the server when evaluating a cast from a character string to a
geometry type.
Example
The following example returns the point POINT (2 4).
SELECT ST_GeomFromEWKT('SRID=0;POINT (2.0 4.0)').ST_AsText() FROM dummy;
3.1.28 ST_GeomFromText Method
Constructs a geometry from a character string representation.
Syntax
ST_GeomFromText(<character-string>[, <srid>])

Parameters
Table 23:
character-string LONG VARCHAR A string containing the text representa

tion of a geometry.
srid INT The SRID of the result. If not specified

and the input string does not contain a
SRID, the default is 0.
Returns
The spatial reference system identifier of the result is given by parameter <srid>.
Remarks
Parses a text string representing a geometry and creates a geometry value of the appropriate type. This
method is used by the server when evaluating a cast from a character string to a geometry type.
The server detects the format of the input string. Some input formats contain a SRID definition. If provided,
the <srid> parameter must match any value taken from the input string.
Example
The following example returns the result LineString (1 2, 5 7).
SELECT ST_GeomFromText( 'LineString( 1 2, 5 7 )', 4326 ).ST_AsText() FROM

dummy;
Related Information
ST_GeomFromText Method [page 66]

ST_GeomFromWKT Method [page 69]

3.1.29 ST_GeomFromWKB Method
Syntax
ST_GeomFromWKB(<wkb>[, <srid>])
Parameters
Table 24:
wkb VARBINARY A string containing the WKB represen

tation of a geometry value.
srid INTEGER The SRID of the result. If not specified,

the default is 0.
Returns
Remarks
Parses a string containing a WKB representation of a geometry and creates a geometry value of the
appropriate type. This method is used by the server when evaluating a cast from a hexadecimal character
string to a geometry type. Some input formats contain an SRID definition.
Example
SELECT
ST_GeomFromWKB(x'010100000000000000000000400000000000001040').ST_AsText() FROM
dummy;

3.1.30 ST_GeomFromWKT Method
Syntax
ST_GeomFromWKT(<wkt>[, <srid>])
Parameters
Table 25:
wkt VARCHAR A string containing the WKT represen

tation of a geometry value.
srid INTEGER The SRID of the result. If not specified,

the default is 0.
Returns
Remarks
Parses a string containing a WKT representation of a geometry and creates a geometry value of the
appropriate type. This method is used by the server when evaluating a cast from a character string to a
geometry type. Some input formats contain an SRID definition.
Example
SELECT ST_GeomFromWKT('POINT (2.0 4.0)').ST_AsText() FROM dummy;

Related Information
ST_GeomFromText Method [page 66]
3.1.31 ST_GeometryType Method
Returns the name of the type of the ST_Geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_GeometryType()
Returns
VARCHAR(128) Returns the data type of the geometry value as a text string. This method can be used to
determine the dynamic type of a value.
Remarks
The ST_GeometryType method returns a string containing the specific type name of <geometry-
expression>.
Example
The following returns the result ST_Point.
SELECT NEW ST_Point( 1, 2 ).ST_GeometryType() FROM dummy;

3.1.32 ST_Intersection Method
Returns the geometry value that represents the point set intersection of two geometries.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Intersection(<geo2>)
Parameters
Table 26:

intersected with the <geometry-
expression>.
Returns
ST_Geometry Returns the geometry value that represents the point set intersection of two geometries.
Remarks
The ST_Intersection method finds the spatial intersection of two geometries. A point is included in the
intersection if it is present in both of the input geometries. If the two geometries don't share any common
points, the result is an empty geometry.
Example
The following intersection between a triangle and a square returns the result POLYGON ((1 1,3 1,3
2,2.5 3,1.5 3,1 2,1 1), a six-sided polygon.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon ((0 0, 4 0, 2 4, 0 0))').ST_Intersection( NEW

ST_Polygon('Polygon ((1 1, 3 1, 3 3, 1 3, 1 1))') ).ST_AsText() FROM dummy;

3.1.33 ST_Intersects Method
Test if a geometry value spatially intersects another value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Intersects(<geo2>)
Parameters
Table 27:

expression>.
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the <geometry-expression> spatially intersects with <geo2>, otherwise 0. If

Remarks
Tests if a geometry value spatially intersects another value. Two geometries intersect if they share one or
more common points.
Example
The following returns the result 1 because the two linestrings intersect.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0,2 0)').ST_Intersects( NEW

ST_LineString('LineString(1 -1,1 1)') ) FROM dummy;
The following returns the result 0 because the two linestrings do not intersect.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0,2 0)').ST_Intersects( NEW

ST_LineString('LineString(1 1,1 2)') ) FROM dummy;

3.1.34 ST_IntersectionAggr Method
Returns the spatial intersection of all of the geometries in a group.
Syntax
ST_IntersectionAggr(<geometry_column>)
Parameters
Table 28:

spatial intersection. This is normally a
column.
Returns
ST_Geometry Returns a geometry that is the spatial intersection for all the geometries in a group.
Example
The following example returns an empty geometry collection, because there is no spatial intersection for all
the geometries in the selected group.
SELECT ST_IntersectionAggr( Shape ).ST_AsText() FROM SpatialShapes WHERE

ShapeID IN ( 11, 12 );
The following example returns: POLYGON ((1 4,1 3,5 3,5 4,1 4)).
SELECT ST_IntersectionAggr( Shape ).ST_AsText() FROM SpatialShapes WHERE

ShapeID IN ( 13, 14 );

3.1.35 ST_IntersectsFilter Method
A quick test if the two geometries intersect.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_IntersectsFilter(<geo2>)
Parameters
Table 29:

expression>.
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the <geometry-expression> spatially intersects with <geo2>, otherwise 0. If

3.1.36 ST_IntersectsRect Method
Test if a geometry intersects a rectangle.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_IntersectsRect(<pmin>,<pmax>)

Parameters
Table 30:
pmin ST_Point The minimum point value that is to be

expression>.
pmax ST_Point The maximum point value that is to be

expression>.
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the <geometry-expression> intersects with the specified rectangle, otherwise 0. If
<pmin> or <pmax> is NULL, then NULL is returned.
Remarks
The ST_IntersectsRect method tests if a geometry intersects with a specified axis-aligned bounding rectangle.
Therefore, this method can be useful for writing window queries to find all geometries that intersect a given
axis-aligned rectangle.
Example
The following returns the result 0 because the linestring does not intersect the provided window.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString( 0 0, 10 0, 10

10 )' ).ST_IntersectsRect( NEW ST_Point( 4, 4 ), NEW ST_Point( 6, 6 ) ) FROM
dummy;
The following returns the result 1 because the linestring does intersect the provided window.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString( 0 4, 10 4, 10

10 )' ).ST_IntersectsRect( NEW ST_Point( 4, 4 ), NEW ST_Point( 6, 6 ) ) FROM
dummy;

3.1.37 ST_IntersectsRectPlanar Method
Test if intersects a rectangle.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_IntersectsRectPlanar(<pmin>,<pmax>)
Parameters
Table 31:
pmin ST_Point The minimum point value to be com

pared to the <geometry-
expression>.
pmax ST_Point The maximum point value to be com

pared to the <geometry-
expression>.
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the <geometry-expression> intersects with the specified rectangle, otherwise 0. If
<pmin> or <pmax> is NULL, then NULL is returned.
Remarks
In planar spatial reference systems (see Spatial Reference Systems (SRS) and Spatial Reference Identifiers
(SRID)), this method returns the same result as ST_IntersectsRect.
In round-earth spatial reference systems, this method re-interprets <geometry-expression> as planar and
checks if the expression intersects the rectangle, which is also re-interpreted as planar. This method can be
useful to perform a window query if round-earth geometries are displayed as flat geometries.

Example
Returns 0 as the line string crosses the dateline in round-earth reference systems and does not contain the
point (0, 0).
SELECT ST_GeomFromText('LineString(179 0, -179 0)',

4326).ST_IntersectsRect(ST_GeomFromText('POINT(-1 -1)', 4326),
ST_GeomFromText('POINT(1 1)', 4326)) FROM DUMMY;
Returns 1 as the line-string is re-interpreted as flat geometry. It contains the point (0, 0) and does not cross
the dateline anymore.
SELECT ST_GeomFromText('LineString(179 0, -179 0)',

4326).ST_IntersectsRectPlanar(ST_GeomFromText('POINT(-1 -1)', 4326),
ST_GeomFromText('POINT(1 1)', 4326)) FROM DUMMY;
Related Information
Spatial Reference Systems (SRS) and Spatial Reference Identifiers (SRID) [page 9]
3.1.38 ST_Is3D Method
Determines if the geometry value has Z coordinate values.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Is3D()
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the geometry value has Z coordinate values, otherwise 0. If <geometry-
expression> is NULL, then NULL is returned.
Example
The following returns the result 0 because the point does not contain a Z value.
SELECT NEW ST_POINT('POINT(0 0)').ST_Is3D() FROM dummy;

SELECT NEW ST_POINT('POINT Z(0 0 0)').ST_Is3D() FROM dummy;
The following returns the result 0 because the point does not contain a Z value.
SELECT NEW ST_POINT('POINT M(0 0 0)').ST_Is3D() FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_POINT('POINT ZM(0 0 0 0)').ST_Is3D() FROM dummy;
3.1.39 ST_IsEmpty Method
Determines whether the geometry value represents an empty set.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_IsEmpty()
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the geometry value is empty, otherwise 0. If <geometry-expression> is NULL, then
NULL is returned.
Example
SELECT NEW ST_LineString().ST_IsEmpty() FROM dummy;

3.1.40 ST_IsMeasured Method
Determines if the geometry value has associated measure values.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_IsMeasured()
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the geometry value has measure values, otherwise 0. If <geometry-expression> is
Example
SELECT ST_GeomFromText( 'LineString M( 1 2 4, 5 7 3 )' ).ST_IsMeasured() FROM

dummy;
SELECT ST_GeomFromText( 'LineString Z( 1 2 4, 5 7 3 )' ).ST_IsMeasured() FROM

dummy;
SELECT count(*) FROM SpatialShapes WHERE Shape.ST_IsMeasured() = 1;
3.1.41 ST_IsSimple Method
Determines whether the geometry value is simple (containing no self-intersections or other irregularities).
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_IsSimple()

Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the geometry value is simple, otherwise 0. If <geometry-expression> is NULL, then
NULL is returned.
Example
The following returns the result 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.
SELECT Shape.ST_IsSimple() FROM SpatialShapes;
3.1.42 ST_IsValid Method
Determines whether the geometry is a valid spatial object.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_IsValid()
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the geometry value is valid, otherwise 0. If <geometry-expression> is NULL, then
NULL is returned.
Remarks
By default, the server does not validate spatial data as it is created or imported from other formats. The
ST_IsValid method can be used to verify that the imported data represents a geometry that is valid.
Operations on invalid geometries return undefined results.
Example
The following returns the result 0 because the polygon contains a bow tie (the ring has a self-intersection).
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon( 'Polygon(( 0 0, 4 0, 4 5, 0 -1, 0 0 ))' ).ST_IsValid()

FROM dummy;

The following returns the result 0 because the polygons within the geometry self-intersect at a polygon.
Self-intersections of a geometry collection at finite number of points is considered valid.
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPolygon( 'MultiPolygon((( 0 0, 2 0, 1 2, 0 0 )),((0 2, 1 0,

2 2, 0 2)))' ).ST_IsValid() FROM dummy;
3.1.43 ST_MMax Method
Retrieves the maximum M coordinate value of a geometry.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_MMax()
Returns
DOUBLE Returns the maximum M coordinate value of the <geometry-expression>.
Example
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString ZM( 1 2 3 4, 5 6 7 8 )' ).ST_MMax() FROM

dummy;
3.1.44 ST_MMin Method
Retrieves the minimum M coordinate value of a geometry.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_MMin()

Returns
DOUBLE Returns the minimum M coordinate value of the <geometry-expression>.
Example
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString ZM( 1 2 3 4, 5 6 7 8 )' ).ST_MMin() FROM

dummy;
3.1.45 ST_NumInteriorRing Method
Returns the number of interior rings in the polygon.
Syntax
<polygon-expression>.ST_NumInteriorRing()
Returns
INT Returns the number of interior rings in the polygon.
Example
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon ((0 0, 3 0, 3 3, 0 3, 0 0), (1 1, 2 1, 2 2, 1

1))').ST_NumInteriorRing() FROM dummy;
Related Information
ST_NumInteriorRings Method [page 83]

3.1.46 ST_NumInteriorRings Method
Returns the number of interior rings in the polygon.
Syntax
<polygon-expression>.ST_NumInteriorRings()
Returns
INT Returns the number of interior rings in the polygon.
Example

1))').ST_NumInteriorRings() FROM dummy;
Related Information
ST_NumInteriorRing Method [page 82]
3.1.47 ST_OrderingEquals Method
Tests if a geometry is identical to another geometry.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_OrderingEquals(<geo2>)

Parameters
Table 32:

expression>.
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the two geometry values are exactly equal, otherwise 0. If <geo2> is NULL, then NULL
is returned.
Remarks
Tests if an ST_Geometry value is identical to another ST_Geometry value. The two geometries must contain
the same hierarchy of objects with the exact same points in the same order to be considered equal under
ST_OrderingEquals.
The ST_OrderingEquals method differs from ST_Equals in that it considers the orientation of linestrings. Two
linestrings can contain exactly the same points but in opposite orders. These two linestrings are considered
equal with ST_Equals but unequal with ST_OrderingEquals. Additionally, ST_OrderingEquals requires that
each point in both geometries is exactly equal, not just equal within the tolerance-distance specified by the
spatial reference system.
The ST_OrderingEquals method defines the semantics used for comparison predicates (= and <>), IN list
predicates, DISTINCT, and GROUP BY. If you wish to compare if two spatial values are spatially equal (contain
the same set of points in set), you can use the ST_Equals method.
Note
The SQL/MM standard defines ST_OrderingEquals to return a relative ordering, with 0 returned if two
geometries are spatially equal (according to ST_Equals) and 1 if they are not equal. The software follows
industry practice and differs from SQL/MM in that it returns a Boolean with 1 indicating the geometries are
equal and 0 indicating they are different. Further, the ST_OrderingEquals implementation differs from
SQL/MM because it tests that values are identical (same hierarchy of objects in the same order) instead of
spatially equal (same set of points in space).

Example
The following returns the result 1 because the two linestrings contain exactly the same points in the same
order.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0, 1 0)').ST_OrderingEquals(NEW

ST_LineString('LineString(0 0, 1 0)')) FROM dummy;
The following returns the result 0 because the two linestrings are defined in different orders (even though
the two linestrings are spatially equal (ST_Equals is 1)).
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0, 1 0)').ST_OrderingEquals(NEW

ST_LineString('LineString(1 0, 0 0)')) FROM dummy;
3.1.48 ST_Overlaps Method
Tests if a geometry value overlaps another geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Overlaps(<geo2>)
Parameters
Table 33:

expression>.
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the <geometry-expression> overlaps <geo2>, otherwise 0. Returns NULL if

<geometry-expression> and <geo2> have different dimensions. If <geometry-expression>
or <geo2> is NULL, then NULL is returned.

Remarks
Two geometries overlap if the following conditions are all true:
● Both geometries have the same dimension.

● The intersection of <geometry-expression> and <geo2> geometries has the same dimension as
● Neither of the original geometries is a subset of the other.
More precisely, <geometry-expression>.ST_Overlaps( <geo2> ) returns 1 when the following is TRUE:
<geometry-expression>.ST_Dimension() = <geo2>.ST_Dimension()
AND <geometry-expression>.ST_Intersection( <geo2> ).ST_Dimension() =
<geometry-expression>.ST_Dimension()
AND <geometry-expression>.ST_Covers( <geo2> ) = 0
AND <geo2>.ST_Covers( <geometry-expression> ) = 0
Note
Note
Example
The following returns the result 1 since the intersection of the two linestrings is also a linestring, and neither
geometry is a subset of the other.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString( 0 0, 5 0 )' ).ST_Overlaps( NEW

ST_LineString( 'LineString( 2 0, 3 0, 3 3 )' ) ) FROM dummy;
The following returns the result NULL since the linestring and point have different dimension.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString( 0 0, 5 0 )' ).ST_Overlaps( NEW

The following returns the result 0 since the point is a subset of the multipoint.
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPoint( 'MultiPoint(( 2 3 ), ( 1 0 ))' ).ST_Overlaps( NEW

The following returns the result 12, 14.
SELECT ShapeID FROM SpatialShapes WHERE NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon(( 3 3, 3 6, 6

6, 3 3 ))').ST_Overlaps ( Shape ) = 1 ORDER BY ShapeID;

3.1.49 ST_Perimeter Method
Computes the perimeter of the multi-surface in the specified unit.
Syntax
<multisurface-expression>.ST_Perimeter([<unit_name>])
Parameters
Table 34:
unit_name VARCHAR(128) The unit in which the perimeter should

be computed. Defaults to the unit of
the spatial reference system. The unit
name must match the UNIT_NAME col
umn of a row in the
Returns
DOUBLE Returns the perimeter of the multi-surface.
Remarks
The ST_Perimeter method returns the length of the perimeter of a multi-surface in the units identified by the
<unit_name> parameter.
If the multi-surface contains Z values, these are not considered when computing the perimeter of the
geometry.
The perimeter of a polygon includes the length of all rings (exterior and interior).
Note
If the <multisurface-expression> is an empty geometry (ST_IsEmpty()=1), then this method returns
NULL.

Note
By default, ST_Perimeter uses the original format for a geometry, if it is available. Otherwise, the internal
format is used. See the STORAGE FORMAT clause of the CREATE SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM
statement.
Example
The following example creates a multi-surface containing two polygons and uses ST_Perimeter to find the
length of the perimeter, returning the result 44.
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPolygon('MultiPolygon (((0 0, 1 0, 1 1, 0 1, 0 0)), ((10

10, 20 10, 20 20, 10 20, 10 10)))').ST_Perimeter() FROM dummy;
The following example creates a multi-surface containing two polygons and uses ST_Perimeter to find the
length of the perimeter, returning the result 48,118985126859144.
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPolygon('MultiPolygon (((0 0, 1 0, 1 1,0 1, 0 0)), ((10 10,

20 10, 20 20,10 20, 10 10)))').ST_Perimeter('yard') FROM dummy;
3.1.50 ST_PointOnSurface Method
Returns an ST_Point value that is guaranteed to spatially intersect the ST_Surface value.
Syntax
<surface-expression>.ST_PointOnSurface()
Returns
ST_Point If the surface is the empty set, returns NULL. Otherwise, returns an ST_Point value guaranteed to
spatially intersect the surface.
Example
The following returns a point that intersects the polygon.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('POLYGON((0 0, 0 1.25, 1.25 1.25, 0

0))').ST_PointOnSurface().ST_AsText() FROM dummy;

3.1.51 ST_Relate Method
Tests if a geometry value is spatially related to another geometry value as specified by the intersection matrix.
The ST_Relate method uses a 9-character string from the Dimensionally Extended 9 Intersection Model
(DE-9IM) to describe the pair-wise relationship between two spatial data items. For example, the ST_Relate
method determines if an intersection occurs between the geometries, and the geometry of the resulting
intersection, if it exists.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Relate(<geo2>)
Parameters
Table 35:
geo2 ST_Geometry The second geometry value that is to

be compared to the <geometry-
expression>.
Returns
VARCHAR Returns a 9-character string representing a matrix in the dimensionally extended 9 intersection
model. Each character in the 9-character string represents the type of intersection at one of the
nine possible intersections between the interior, boundary, and exterior of the two geometries. If
Remarks
Tests if a geometry value is spatially related to another geometry value by testing for intersection between the
interior, boundary, and exterior of two geometries, as specified by the intersection matrix.
The intersection matrix is returned as a string. While it is possible to use this method variant to test a spatial
relationship by examining the returned string, it is more efficient to test relationships by passing a pattern
string as second parameter or by using specific spatial predicates such as ST_Contains or ST_Intersects.

Note
Note
Example
The following example returns the result 1F2001102.

.ST_Relate( NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString( 0 1, 5 1 )' ) ) from dummy;
Related Information
How Spatial Relationships Work [page 29]
3.1.52 ST_SRID Method
Returns the SRID of the geometry.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_SRID()
Returns
INT Returns the SRID of the geometry.
Remarks
Returns the SRID of the geometry. Every geometry is associated with a spatial reference system.

Example
The following returns the result 0, indicating the point has the SRID 0, corresponding to the 'Default' spatial
reference system.
SELECT NEW ST_Point().ST_SRID() FROM dummy;
3.1.53 ST_SRID(INT) Method
Changes the spatial reference system associated with the geometry without modifying any of the values.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_SRID([<srid>])
Parameters
Table 36:
srid INT The SRID to use for the result.
Returns
ST_Geometry Returns a copy of the geometry value with the specified spatial reference system.
Remarks
The ST_SRID method creates a copy of a <geometry-expression> with the SRID specified by srid
parameter. ST_SRID can be used when both the source and destination spatial reference systems have the
same coordinate system.
If you are transforming a geometry between two spatial reference systems that have different coordinate
systems, you should use the ST_Transform method.

Note
By default, ST_SRID uses the original format for a geometry, if it is available. Otherwise, the internal format
is used. See the STORAGE FORMAT clause of the CREATE SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM statement.
Example
The following example returns the result SRID=1000004326;Point (-118 34).
SELECT NEW ST_Point('Point (-118 34)', 4326).ST_SRID( 1000004326 ).ST_AsEWKT()

FROM dummy;
3.1.54 ST_SnapToGrid Method
Returns a copy of the geometry with all points snapped to the specified grid.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_SnapToGrid(<cell-size>)
Parameters
Table 37:
cell-size DOUBLE The cell size for the grid.
Returns
ST_Geometry Returns the geometry with all points snapped to the grid.

Remarks
The ST_SnapToGrid method can be used to reduce the precision of data by snapping all points in a geometry
to a grid defined by the origin and cell size.
The X and Y coordinates are snapped to the grid; any Z and M values are unchanged.
Note
Reducing precision may cause the resulting geometry to have different properties. For example, it may
cause a simple linestring to cross itself, or it may generate an invalid geometry.
Note
Each spatial reference system defines a grid that all geometries are automatically snapped to. You cannot
store more precision than this predefined grid.
Example
The following example returns the result LineString (1.536133 6.439453, 2.173828 6.100586).
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString( 1.5358 6.4391, 2.17401

6.10018 )' ).ST_SnapToGrid( 0.001 ).ST_AsText() FROM dummy;
Each X and Y coordinate is shifted to the closest grid point using a grid size of approximately 0.001. The
actual grid size used is not exactly the grid size specified.
3.1.55 ST_SymDifference Method
Returns the geometry value that represents the point set symmetric difference of two geometries.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_SymDifference(<geo2>)

Parameters
Table 38:

subtracted from the <geometry-
expression> to find the symmetric
difference.
Returns
ST_Geometry Returns the geometry value that represents the point set symmetric difference of two
geometries.
Remarks
The ST_SymDifference method finds the symmetric difference of two geometries. The symmetric difference
consists of all of those points that are in only one of the two geometries. If the two geometry values consist of
the same points, the ST_SymDifference method returns an empty geometry.
Example
The following example shows the difference between the two objects.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon( 'Polygon( (-1 -0.25, 1 -0.25, 1 2.25, -1 2.25, -1

-0.25) )' ).ST_SymDifference(NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon ((-5 -5, 5 -5, 0 5, -5
-5), (-2 -2, -2 0, 2 0, 2 -2, -2 -2))')) from dummy;
3.1.56 ST_Touches Method
Tests if a geometry value spatially touches another geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Touches(<geo2>)

Parameters
Table 39:

expression>.
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the <geometry-expression> touches <geo2>, otherwise 0. Returns NULL if both
<geometry-expression> and <geo2> have dimension 0. If <geometry-expression> or
Remarks
Tests if a geometry value spatially touches another geometry value. Two geometries spatially touch if their
interiors do not intersect but one or more boundary points from one value intersects the interior or boundary
of the other value.
Note
Example
The following example returns 1.
SELECT NEW ST_LINESTRING('LINESTRING(7.0 5.0, 9.0 7.0)')

.ST_Touches( NEW ST_LINESTRING('LINESTRING(7.0 5.0, 8.0 5.0)') ) FROM dummy;

3.1.57 ST_Transform Method
Creates a copy of the geometry value transformed into the specified spatial reference system.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Transform(<srid>)
Parameters
Table 40:
srid INT The SRID of the result.
Returns
ST_Geometry Returns a copy of the geometry value transformed into the specified spatial reference
system.
Remarks
The ST_Transform method transforms <geometry-expression> from its spatial reference system to the
specified spatial reference system using the transform definition of both spatial reference systems.
A transformation only takes place, if both spatial reference systems exist and if both spatial reference systems
have a transform definition.
For spatial reference systems 0 a transformation does not take place, because spatial reference systems 0
does not have a transform definition.
Example
The following example returns the result Point (10, 30) in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_Point('POINT(-86 36)',4326).ST_Transform(1000004326) from dummy;

3.1.58 ST_Union Method
Returns the geometry value that represents the point set union of two geometries.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Union(<geo2>)
Parameters
Table 41:

unioned with the <geometry-
expression>.
Returns
ST_Geometry Returns the geometry value that represents the point set union of two geometries.
Remarks
The ST_Union method finds the spatial union of two geometries. A point is included in the union if it is present
in either of the two input geometries.
Note
Example
The following example shows union of two overlapping rectangles:
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon( 'Polygon( (1 1, 1 6, 5 6, 5 1, 1 1) )' ).ST_Union( NEW

ST_Polygon( 'Polygon( (2 2, 2 4, 7 4, 7 2, 2 2) )' )).ST_AsText() FROM dummy;

The union of the two rectangles is a polygon (POLYGON ((5 4,5 6,1 6,1 1,5 1,5 2,7 2,7 4,5
4))):
3.1.59 ST_UnionAggr Method
Returns the spatial union of all of the geometries in a group.
Syntax
ST_UnionAggr(<geometry_column>)
Parameters
Table 42:

spatial union. Typically this is a column.
Returns
ST_Geometry Returns a geometry that is the spatial union for all the geometries in a group.

Example
The following example returns the result MULTIPOINT ((2.5 3),(3 4.5)).
SELECT ST_UnionAggr( Shape ).ST_AsText() FROM SpatialShapes WHERE ShapeID in

(1,2);
3.1.60 ST_Within Method
Tests if a geometry value is spatially contained within another geometry value.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_Within(<geo2>)
Parameters
Table 43:

expression>.
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if <geometry-expression> is within <geo2>, otherwise 0. If <geometry-

expression> or <geo2> is NULL, then NULL is returned.
Remarks
The ST_Within method tests if the <geometry-expression> is completely within <geo2> and there is one or
more interior points of <geo2> that lies in the interior of the <geometry-expression>.
<geometry-expression>. ST_Within(<geo2>) is equivalent to <geo2>.ST_Contains(<geometry-

expression>).

The ST_Within and ST_CoveredBy methods are similar. The difference is that ST_CoveredBy does not require
intersecting interior points.
Note
Note
Example
The following example tests if a point is within a polygon. The point is completely within the polygon, and the
interior of the point (the point itself) intersects the interior of the polygon, so the example returns 1.
SELECT NEW ST_Point(1, 1).ST_Within( NEW ST_Polygon( 'Polygon(( 0 0, 2 0, 1 2,

0 0 ))' ) ) FROM dummy;
The following example tests if a line is within a polygon. The line is completely within the polygon, but the
interior of the line and the interior of the polygon do not intersect (the line only intersects the polygon on the
polygon's boundary, and the boundary is not part of the interior), so the example returns 0. If
ST_CoveredBy was used in place of ST_Within, ST_CoveredBy would return 1.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString( 0 0, 1 0 )' ).ST_Within( NEW

3.1.61 ST_WithinDistance Method
Test if two geometries are within a specified distance of each other.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_WithinDistance(<geo2>,<distance>,<unit_name>)

Parameters
Table 44:
geo2 ST_Geometry The other geometry value whose dis

tance is to be measured from the
distance DOUBLE The distance the two geometries

should be within.

Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if <geometry-expression> and <geo2> are within the specified distance of each
other, otherwise 0. If any of the input parameters is NULL, then NULL is returned.
Remarks
The ST_WithinDistance method tests if the smallest distance between two geometries does not exceed a
specified distance, taking tolerance into consideration.
More precisely, let <d> denote the smallest distance between <geometry-expression> and <geo2>. The
expression <geometry-expression>.ST_WithinDistance( <geo2>, <distance>) evaluates to 1 if
either <d> <= <distance> or if <d> exceeds <distance> by a length that is less than the tolerance of the
associated spatial reference system.
Note
This method can only be used with geometries in round-Earth spatial reference system for point to point
calculations.
Example
The following example returns 1 because the two points are within 1 unit of distance.
SELECT NEW ST_Point(0,0).ST_WithinDistance( NEW ST_Point(1,0), 1 ) FROM dummy;

The following example returns 0 because the two points are not within 1 unit of distance.
SELECT NEW ST_Point(0,0).ST_WithinDistance( NEW ST_Point(1,1), 1 ) FROM dummy;
The following example returns 0 because the two points are not within 4 units of distance.
SELECT NEW ST_Point( 'Point(0 0)' ).ST_WithinDistance(NEW ST_Point( 'Point(3.1

4.1)' ), 4) FROM dummy;
The following example returns 0 because the two points are not within 6 units of distance.
SELECT NEW ST_Point( 'Point(0 0)' ).ST_WithinDistance(NEW ST_Point( 'Point(3.1

4.1)' ), 6) FROM dummy;
The following example returns 0 because the distance between Walldorf and Heidelberg is not less or equal
25 meters.
SELECT NEW ST_Point('Point(8.641493 49.293679)', 4326).ST_WithinDistance(new

ST_Point('Point(8.682241 49.407571)', 4326), 25, 'meter') FROM
dummy;
The following example returns 1 because the distance between Walldorf and Heidelberg is less or equal 25
kilometers.
SELECT NEW ST_Point('Point(8.641493 49.293679)', 4326).ST_WithinDistance(new

ST_Point('Point(8.682241 49.407571)', 4326), 25, 'kilometer')
FROM dummy;
3.1.62 ST_XMax Method
Retrieves the maximum X coordinate value of a geometry.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_XMax()
Returns
DOUBLE Returns the maximum X coordinate value of the <geometry-expression>.

Remarks
Returns the maximum X coordinate value of the <geometry-expression>. This is computed by comparing
the X attribute of all points in the geometry.
Note
Example
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(1 2, 3 4)').ST_XMax() FROM dummy;
3.1.63 ST_XMin Method
Retrieves the minimum X coordinate value of a geometry.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_XMin()
Returns
DOUBLE Returns the minimum X coordinate value of the <geometry-expression>.
Remarks
Returns the minimum X coordinate value of the <geometry-expression>. This is computed by comparing
the X attribute of all points in the geometry.
Note

Example
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(1 2, 3 4)').ST_XMin() FROM dummy;
3.1.64 ST_YMax Method
Retrieves the maximum Y coordinate value of a geometry.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_YMax()
Returns
DOUBLE Returns the maximum Y coordinate value of the <geometry-expression>.
Remarks
Returns the maximum Y coordinate value of the <geometry-expression>. This is computed by comparing
the Y attribute of all points in the geometry.
Note
Example
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(1 2, 3 4)').ST_YMax() FROM dummy;

3.1.65 ST_YMin Method
Retrieves the minimum Y coordinate value of a geometry.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_YMin()
Returns
DOUBLE Returns the minimum Y coordinate value of the <geometry-expression>.
Remarks
Returns the minimum Y coordinate value of the <geometry-expression>. This is computed by comparing
the Y attribute of all points in the geometry.
Note
Example
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(1 2, 3 4)').ST_YMin() FROM dummy;
3.1.66 ST_ZMax Method
Retrieves the maximum Z coordinate value of a geometry.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_ZMax()

Returns
DOUBLE Returns the maximum Z coordinate value of the <geometry-expression>.
Remarks
Returns the maximum Z coordinate value of the <geometry-expression>. This is computed by comparing
the Z attribute of all points in the geometry.
Note
Example
Example
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString Z(1 2 10, 3 4 7, 5 6 9.9)').ST_ZMax()

FROM dummy;
3.1.67 ST_ZMin Method
Retrieves the minimum Z coordinate value of a geometry.
Syntax
<geometry-expression>.ST_ZMin()
Returns
DOUBLE Returns the minimum Z coordinate value of the <geometry-expression>.

Remarks
Returns the minimum Z coordinate value of the <geometry-expression>. This is computed by comparing
the Z attribute of all points in the geometry.
Note
Example
Example
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString Z(1 2 10, 3 4 7, 5 6 9.9)').ST_ZMin()

FROM dummy;
3.2 ST_CircularString Type
The ST_CircularString type is a subtype of ST_Geometry that uses circular line segments between control
points.
The first three points define a segment as follows. The first point is the start point of the segment. The second
point is any point on the segment other than the start and end point. The third point is the end point of the
segment. Subsequent segments are defined by two points only (intermediate and end point). The start point is
taken to be the end point of the preceding segment.
A circularstring can be a complete circle with three points, if the start and end points are coincident. In this
case, the intermediate point is the midpoint of the segment. If the start, intermediate and end points are
collinear, the segment is a straight line segment between the start and end point. A circularstring with exactly
three points is a circular arc. A circular ring is a circularstring that is both closed and simple.
Circularstrings are not allowed in round-Earth spatial reference systems. Attempting to create one for SRID
4326 for example returns an error.
Direct supertype
ST_Geometry [page 34]

Constructor
ST_CircularString [page 108]
3.2.1 ST_CircularString Constructor
Constructs a circularstring.
Overload list
Table 45:
Name Description
ST_CircularString() [page 108] Constructs a circularstring representing the empty set.
ST_CircularString(BLOB [,INT]) [page 109] Constructs a circularstring from Well Known Binary (WKB).
ST_CircularString(CLOB [,INT]) [page 110] Constructs a circularstring from Well Known Text (WKT).
3.2.1.1 ST_CircularString() Constructor
Constructs a circularstring representing the empty set.
Syntax
NEW ST_CircularString()
Example
Constructs a circularstring representing the empty set.
SELECT NEW ST_CircularString() FROM dummy;

3.2.1.2 ST_CircularString(BLOB [,INT]) Constructor
Constructs a circularstring from Well Known Binary (WKB).
Syntax
NEW ST_CircularString(BLOB <wkb> [,INT <srid>)
Parameters
Table 46:
wkb BLOB A string containing the text representa

tion of a circularstring in Well Known
Text (WKT) format.

Example
The following returns CircularString (5 10, 10 12, 15 10) in binary format.
SELECT NEW
ST_CircularString(x'01080000000300000000000000000014400000000000002440000000000
000244000000000000028400000000000002e400000000000002440') FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW
ST_CircularString(x'01080000000300000000000000000014400000000000002440000000000
000244000000000000028400000000000002e400000000000002440', 1000004326) FROM
dummy;

3.2.1.3 ST_CircularString(CLOB [,INT]) Constructor
Constructs a circularstring from Well Known Text (WKT).
Syntax
NEW ST_CircularString(CLOB <wkt> [,INT <srid>])
Parameters
Table 47:
wkt CLOB A string containing the text representa

tion of a circularstring in Well Known
Text (WKT) format.

Example
SELECT NEW ST_CircularString('CIRCULARSTRING(0 0, 1 1, 0 2)') FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_CircularString('CIRCULARSTRING(0 0, 1 1, 0 2)', 1000004326) FROM

dummy;

3.3 ST_GeometryCollection Type
An ST_GeometryCollection is a collection of zero or more ST_Geometry values.
Direct supertype
Constructor
ST_GeometryCollection [page 112]
Methods
Methods of ST_GeometryCollection
Table 48:
ST_GeometryN [page 115] ST_NumGeometries [page 116]
Remarks
An ST_GeometryCollection is a collection of zero or more ST_Geometry values. All of the values are in the
same spatial reference system as the collection value. The ST_GeometryCollection type can contain a
heterogeneous collection of objects (for example, points, lines, and polygons). Sub-types of
ST_GeometryCollection can be used to restrict the collection to certain geometry types. The dimension of the
geometry collection value is the largest dimension of its constituents. A geometry collection is simple if all of
the constituents are simple and no two constituent geometries intersect except possibly at their boundaries.

3.3.1 ST_GeometryCollection Constructor
Constructs a geometry collection.
Overload list
Table 49:
Name Description
ST_GeometryCollection() [page 112] Constructs a geometry collection representing the empty

set.
ST_GeometryCollection(LONG VARCHAR [,INT]) [page Constructs a geometry collection from a text representa
113] tion.
ST_GeometryCollection(LONG BINARY [,INT]) [page 114] Constructs a geometry collection from Well Known Binary
(WKB).
3.3.1.1 ST_GeometryCollection() Constructor
Constructs a geometry collection representing the empty set.
Syntax
NEW ST_GeometryCollection()
Example
The following returns 1, indicating the value is empty.
SELECT NEW ST_GeometryCollection().ST_IsEmpty() FROM dummy;

3.3.1.2 ST_GeometryCollection(LONG VARCHAR [,INT])
Constructor
Constructs a geometry collection from a text representation.
Syntax
NEW ST_GeometryCollection(<text-representation> [,INT <srid>])
Parameters
Table 50:
text-representation LONG VARCHAR A string containing the text representa

tion of a multi linestring in Well Known
Text (WKT) format.

Remarks
Constructs a multi linestring from a character string representation.
Example
The following returns GeometryCollection (LineString(5 10, 10 12, 15 10), Polygon ((10
-5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5))) in binary format.
SELECT New ST_GeometryCollection( 'GeometryCollection (LineString(5 10, 10 12,

15 10), Polygon ((10 -5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5)))') FROM dummy;
The following returns the geometry collection in binary format.
SELECT New ST_GeometryCollection( 'GeometryCollection Z(LineString Z(5 10 20,

10 12 25, 15 10 13), Polygon Z((10 -5 4, 15 5 6, 5 5 7, 10 -5 4)), Point Z(10
15 12))') FROM dummy;

The following returns GeometryCollection (LineString(5 10, 10 12, 15 10), Polygon ((10
-5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5))) in binary format.
SELECT New ST_GeometryCollection( 'GeometryCollection (LineString(5 10, 10 12,

15 10), Polygon ((10 -5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5)))', 4326) FROM dummy;
3.3.1.3 ST_GeometryCollection(LONG BINARY [,INT])

Constructor
Constructs a geometry collection from Well Known Binary (WKB).
Syntax
NEW ST_GeometryCollection(<wkb> [,INT <srid>])
Parameters
Table 51:
wkb LONG BINARY A string containing the binary repre

sentation of a multi linestring in Well
Known Binary (WKB) format.

Remarks
Constructs an ST_GeometryCollection value from a binary string representation.
Example
The following returns GeometryCollection (Point (10 20)) in binary format.
SELECT NEW
ST_GeometryCollection(x'0107000000010000000101000000000000000000244000000000000
03440') FROM dummy;

The following returns GeometryCollection (Point (10 20)) in binary format.
SELECT NEW
ST_GeometryCollection(x'0107000000010000000101000000000000000000244000000000000
03440', 4326) FROM dummy;
3.3.2 ST_GeometryN Method

Returns the nth geometry in the geometry collection.
Syntax
<geometrycollection-expression>.ST_GeometryN(<n>)
Parameters
Table 52:
n INT The position of the element to return,

from 1 to
geometrycollectionexpressi
on. ST_NumGeometries().
Returns
ST_Geometry Returns the nth geometry in the geometry collection.
Example
The following example returns the result POLYGON ((10 -5,15 5,5 5,10 -5)).
SELECT NEW ST_GeometryCollection('GeometryCollection (LineString(5 10, 10 12,

15 10), Polygon ((10 -5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5)))').ST_GeometryN( 2 ).ST_AsText()
FROM dummy;
The following example returns the result POLYGON ((10 -5,15 5,5 5,10 -5)).
SELECT NEW ST_GeometryCollection('GeometryCollection (LineString(5 10, 10 12,

15 10), Polygon ((10 -5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5)))',
1000004326).ST_GeometryN( 2 ).ST_AsText() FROM dummy;

3.3.3 ST_NumGeometries Method
Returns the number of geometries contained in the geometry collection.
Syntax
<geometrycollection-expression>.ST_NumGeometries()
Returns
INT Returns the number of geometries stored in this collection.
Example
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPoint('MultiPoint ((10 10), (12 12), (14

10))').ST_NumGeometries() FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPoint('MultiPoint ((10 10), (12 12), (14 10))',

1000004326).ST_NumGeometries() FROM dummy;
3.4 ST_LineString Type
The ST_LineString type is used to represent a multi-segment line using straight line segments between control
points.
Direct supertype

Constructor
ST_LineString [page 117]
Methods
● Methods of ST_LineString:
Table 53:
ST_EndPoint [page 120] ST_IsClosed [page 121] ST_IsRing [page 122] ST_Length [page 123]
ST_NumPoints [page 124] ST_PointN [page 125] ST_StartPoint [page 126]
● All methods of ST_Geometry
Remarks
The ST_LineString type is used to represent a multi-segment line using straight line segments between control
points. Each consecutive pair of points is joined with a straight line segment.
A line is an ST_LineString value with exactly two points. A linear ring is an ST_LineString value which is closed
and simple.
3.4.1 ST_LineString Constructor
Constructs a linestring.
Overload list
Table 54:
Name Description
ST_LineString() [page 118] Constructs a linestring representing the empty set.
ST_LineString(LONG VARCHAR [,INT]) [page 118] Constructs a linestring from a text representation.
ST_LineString(LONG BINARY [,INT]) [page 119] Constructs a linestring from Well Known Binary (WKB).

3.4.1.1 ST_LineString() Constructor
Constructs a linestring representing the empty set.
Syntax
NEW ST_LineString()
Example
SELECT NEW ST_LineString().ST_IsEmpty() FROM dummy;
3.4.1.2 ST_LineString(LONG VARCHAR [,INT]) Constructor
Constructs a linestring from a text representation.
Syntax
NEW ST_LineString(<text-representation> [,INT <srid>])
Parameters
Table 55:

tion of a linestring in Well Known Text
(WKT) format.


Remarks
Constructs a linestring from a character string representation.
Example
The following returns LineString (0 0, 5 10) in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString (0 0, 5 10)') FROM dummy;
The following returns

01D207000002000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001040000000000000144
000000000000024400000000000001840.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString M(0 0 4, 5 10 6)') FROM dummy;

01EA03000002000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001C40000000000000144
000000000000024400000000000001040.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString Z(0 0 7, 5 10 4)') FROM dummy;

01BA0B000002000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000840000000000000184
00000000000001440000000000000244000000000000010400000000000002040.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString ZM(0 0 3 6, 5 10 4 8)') FROM dummy;

010200000002000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001440000000000000244
0.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString (0 0, 5 10)', 4326) FROM dummy;
3.4.1.3 ST_LineString(LONG BINARY [,INT]) Constructor
Constructs a linestring from Well Known Binary (WKB).
Syntax
NEW ST_LineString(<wkb> [,INT <srid>)

Parameters
Table 56:

sentation of a linestring in Well Known
Binary (WKB) format.

Remarks
Constructs a linestring from a binary string representation.
Example
SELECT NEW
ST_LineString(x'010200000002000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001
4400000000000002440') FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW
ST_LineString(x'010200000002000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001
4400000000000002440', 4326) FROM dummy;
3.4.2 ST_EndPoint Method
Returns an ST_Point value that is the end point.
Syntax
<linestring-expression>.ST_EndPoint()

Returns
ST_Point If the linestring is an empty set, returns NULL. Otherwise, returns the end point of the linestring.
The spatial reference system identifier of the result is the same as the spatial reference system of
the <linestring-expression>.
Example
The following example returns the result Point (5 10) in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString(0 0, 5 5, 5 10)' ).ST_EndPoint() FROM

dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString(0 0, 5 5, 5 10)', 4326).ST_EndPoint()

FROM dummy;
3.4.3 ST_IsClosed Method
Test if the linestring is closed. A linestring is closed if the start and end points are coincident.
Syntax
<linestring-expression>.ST_IsClosed()
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the linestring is closed (and non-empty). Otherwise, returns 0. If <linestring-
Example
The following returns "1" because the linestring is closed.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString(0 0, 5 5, 5 0, 0 0)' ).ST_IsClosed()

FROM dummy;

The following returns "1" because the linestring is closed.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString(0 0, 5 5, 5 0, 0 0)',

4326).ST_IsClosed() FROM dummy;
3.4.4 ST_IsRing Method
Tests if the linestring is a ring. A linestring is a ring if it is closed and simple (no self-intersections).
Syntax
<linestring-expression>.ST_IsRing()
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the linestring is a ring (and non-empty). Otherwise, returns 0. If <linestring-
Example
The following returns "1" because the linestring is a ring.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString(0 0, 5 5, 5 0, 0 0)' ).ST_IsRing() FROM

dummy;
The following returns "1" because the linestring is a ring.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString(0 0, 5 5, 5 0, 0 0)', 4326).ST_IsRing()

FROM dummy;

3.4.5 ST_Length Method
Returns the length of the linestring.
Syntax
<linestring-expression>.ST_Length(<unit_name>)
Parameters
Table 57:

Returns
DOUBLE If the linestring is an empty set, returns NULL. Otherwise, returns the length of the linestring.
Remarks
The ST_Length method returns the length of a linestring. If the linestring is empty, then NULL is returned.
If the linestring contains Z values, these are not considered when computing the length of the geometry.
Note
If the <linestring-expression> is an empty geometry (ST_IsEmpty()=1), then this method returns
NULL.

Example
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString(1 0, 1 1, 2 1)' ).ST_Length() FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString(1 0, 1 1, 2 1)', 4326).ST_Length() FROM

dummy;
3.4.6 ST_NumPoints Method
Returns the number of points defining the linestring.
Syntax
<linestring-expression>.ST_NumPoints()
Returns
INT Returns NULL if the linestring value is empty, otherwise the number of points in the value.
Example
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0, 1 0, 1 1, 0 1, 0

0 )').ST_NumPoints() FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0, 1 0, 1 1, 0 1, 0 0 )',

4326).ST_NumPoints() FROM dummy;

3.4.7 ST_PointN Method
Returns the <n>th point in the linestring.
Syntax
<linestring-expression>.ST_PointN(<n>)
Parameters
Table 58:

from 1 to <linestring-
expression>.ST_NumPoints().
Returns
ST_Point If the value of <linestring-expression> is the empty set, returns NULL. If the specified
position <n> is less than 1 or greater than the number of points, returns NULL. Otherwise, returns
the ST_Point value at position n.
Example
The following returns the result Point (1 0) in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0, 1 0, 1 1, 0 1, 0 0 )').ST_PointN(2)

FROM dummy;
The following returns the result Point (1 0) in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0, 1 0, 1 1, 0 1, 0 0 )',

4326).ST_PointN(2) FROM dummy;

3.4.8 ST_StartPoint Method
Returns an ST_Point value that is the starting point.
Syntax
<linestring-expression>.ST_StartPoint()
Returns
ST_Point If the linestring is an empty set, returns NULL. Otherwise, returns the start point of the linestring.
Example
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString(0 0, 5 5, 5 10)').ST_StartPoint() FROM

dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_LineString( 'LineString(0 0, 5 5, 5 10)', 4326).ST_StartPoint()

FROM dummy;
3.5 ST_MultiLineString Type
An ST_MultiLineString is a collection of zero or more ST_LineString values, and all of the linestrings are within
the spatial reference system.
Direct supertype

Constructor
ST_MultiLineString [page 127]
Methods
● Methods of ST_MultiLineString:
Table 59:
ST_IsClosed [page 121] ST_Length [page 131]
3.5.1 ST_MultiLineString Constructor
Constructs a multi linestring.
Overload list
Table 60:
Name Description
ST_MultiLineString() [page 127] Constructs a multi linestring representing the empty set.
ST_MultiLineString(LONG VARCHAR [,INT]) [page 128] Constructs a multi linestring from a text representation.
ST_MultiLineString(LONG BINARY [,INT]) [page 129] Constructs a multi linestring from Well Known Binary
(WKB).
3.5.1.1 ST_MultiLineString() Constructor
Constructs a multi linestring representing the empty set.
Syntax
NEW ST_MultiLineString()

Example
SELECT NEW ST_MultiLineString().ST_IsEmpty() FROM dummy;
3.5.1.2 ST_MultiLineString(LONG VARCHAR [,INT])

Constructor
Constructs a multi linestring from a text representation.
Syntax
NEW ST_MultiLineString(<text-representation> [,INT <srid>])
Parameters
Table 61:

tion of a multi linestring in Well Known
Text (WKT) format.

Remarks
Constructs a multi linestring from a character string representation.
Example
The following returns MultiLineString ((10 10, 12 12), (14 10, 16 12)) in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_MultiLineString('MultiLineString ((10 10, 12 12), (14 10, 16

12))') FROM dummy;

The following returns the multi linestring in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_MultiLineString('MultiLineString Z((10 10 10, 12 12 12), (14 10

10, 16 12 12))') FROM dummy;
The following returns the multi linestring in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_MultiLineString('MultiLineString ZM((10 10 10 10, 12 12 12 10),

(14 10 12 13, 16 12 13 14))') FROM dummy;
The following returns MultiLineString ((10 10, 12 12), (14 10, 16 12)) in binary format.

12))', 4326) FROM dummy;
3.5.1.3 ST_MultiLineString(LONG BINARY [,INT])

Constructor
Constructs a multi linestring from Well Known Binary (WKB).
Syntax
NEW ST_MultiLineString(<wkb> [,INT <srid>])
Parameters
Table 62:

sentation of a multi linestring in Well

Remarks
Constructs a multi linestring from a binary string representation.

Example
The following returns MultiLineString ((10 10, 12 12)) in binary format.
SELECT NEW
ST_MultiLineString(x'0105000000010000000102000000020000000000000000002440000000
000000244000000000000028400000000000002840') FROM dummy;
The following returns MultiLineString ((10 10, 12 12)) in binary format.
SELECT NEW
ST_MultiLineString(x'0105000000010000000102000000020000000000000000002440000000
000000244000000000000028400000000000002840', 4326) FROM dummy;
3.5.2 ST_IsClosed Method
Tests if the value is closed. A linestring is closed if the start and end points are coincident. A multilinestring is
closed if it is non-empty and has an empty boundary.
Syntax
<multilinestring-expression>.ST_IsClosed()
Returns
INTEGER Returns 1 if the multilinestring is closed, otherwise 0. If <multilinestring-expression> is

Example
The following returns the result 0 because the LineString has two points and therefore is not closed.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0, 1 0)').ST_IsClosed() FROM dummy;
The following returns the result 0 because the LineString has two points and therefore is not closed.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0, 1 0)', 4326).ST_IsClosed() FROM

dummy;
The following returns the result 1 because the LineString is closed.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0, 1 0, 1 1, 0 0)').ST_IsClosed() FROM

dummy;

The following returns the result 1 because the LineString is closed.
SELECT NEW ST_LineString('LineString(0 0, 1 0, 1 1, 0 0)', 4326).ST_IsClosed()

FROM dummy;
3.5.3 ST_Length Method
Returns the length measurement of all the linestrings in the multilinestring.
Syntax
<multilinestring-expression>.ST_Length(<unit_name>)
Parameters
Table 63:

Returns
DOUBLE Returns the length measurement of the ST_LineString ST_MultiLineString value.
Remarks
The ST_Length method returns the length of a multilinestring. The length of a multilinestring is the sum of the
lengths of the contained linestrings. If the multilinestring is empty, then NULL is returned.
If the multilinestring contains Z values, these are not considered when computing the length of the geometry.

Note
If the <multilinestring-expression> is an empty geometry (ST_IsEmpty()=1), then this method
returns NULL.
Example
The following example creates a multilinestring with two elements and uses ST_Length to find the length of
the geometry, returning the value the result 2.

1))').ST_Length() FROM dummy;
3.6 ST_MultiPoint Type
An ST_MultiPoint is a collection of zero or more ST_Point values, and all of the points are within the spatial
reference system.
Direct supertype
Constructor
ST_MultiPoint [page 133]

3.6.1 ST_MultiPoint Constructor
Constructs a multi-point.
Overload list
Table 64:
Name Description
ST_MultiPoint() [page 133] Constructs a multi-point representing the empty set.
ST_MultiPoint(LONG VARCHAR [,INT]) [page 133] Constructs a multi-point from a text representation.
ST_MultiPoint(LONG BINARY [,INT]) [page 135] Constructs a multi-point from Well Known Binary (WKB).
3.6.1.1 ST_MultiPoint() Constructor
Constructs a multi-point representing the empty set.
Syntax
NEW ST_MultiPoint()
Example
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPoint().ST_IsEmpty() FROM dummy;
3.6.1.2 ST_MultiPoint(LONG VARCHAR [,INT]) Constructor
Constructs a multi-point from a text representation.
Syntax
NEW ST_MultiPoint(<text-representation> [,INT <srid>])

Parameters
Table 65:

tion of a multi-point in Well Known Text
(WKT) format.

Remarks
Constructs a multi-point from a character string representation.
Example
The following returns MultiPoint ((10 10), (12 12), (14 10)) in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPoint('MultiPoint ((10 10), (12 12), (14 10))') FROM dummy;
The following returns the multi-point in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPoint('MultiPoint Z((10 10 12), (12 12 14), (14 10 10))')

FROM dummy;
The following returns the multi-point in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPoint('MultiPoint ZM((10 10 12 1), (12 12 14 1), (14 10 10

1))') FROM dummy;
The following returns multi-point in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPoint('MultiPoint ((10 10), (12 12), (14 10))', 4326) FROM
dummy;

3.6.1.3 ST_MultiPoint(LONG BINARY [,INT]) Constructor
Constructs a multi-point from Well Known Binary (WKB).
Syntax
NEW ST_MultiPoint(<wkb> [,INT <srid>)
Parameters
Table 66:

sentation of a multi-point in Well

Remarks
Constructs a multi-point from a binary string representation.
Example
SELECT NEW
ST_MultiPoint(x'010400000003000000010100000000000000000024400000000000002440010
10000000000000000002840000000000000284001010000000000000000002c4000000000000024
40') FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW
ST_MultiPoint(x'010400000003000000010100000000000000000024400000000000002440010
10000000000000000002840000000000000284001010000000000000000002c4000000000000024
40', 4326) FROM dummy;

3.7 ST_MultiPolygon Type
An ST_MultiPolygon is a collection of zero or more ST_Polygon values, and all of the polygons are within the
same spatial reference system.
Direct supertype
Constructor
ST_MultiPolygon [page 136]
Methods
● Methods of ST_MultiPolygon:
Table 67:
ST_Area [page 140]
3.7.1 ST_MultiPolygon Constructor
Constructs a multi polygon.
Overload list
Table 68:
Name Description
ST_MultiPolygon() [page 137] Constructs a multi polygon representing the empty set.
ST_MultiPolygon(LONG VARCHAR [,INT]) [page 137] Constructs a multi polygon from a text representation.

Name Description
ST_MultiPolygon(LONG BINARY [,INT]) [page 139] Constructs a multi polygon from Well Known Binary (WKB).
3.7.1.1 ST_MultiPolygon() Constructor
Constructs a multi polygon representing the empty set.
Syntax
NEW ST_MultiPolygon()
Example
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPolygon().ST_IsEmpty() FROM dummy;
3.7.1.2 ST_MultiPolygon(LONG VARCHAR [,INT])

Constructor
Constructs a multi polygon from a text representation.
Syntax
NEW ST_MultiPolygon(<text-representation> [,INT <srid>])

Parameters
Table 69:

tion of a multi polygon in Well Known
Text (WKT) format.

Remarks
Constructs a multi polygon from a character string representation.
Example
The following returns MultiPolygon (((-5 -5, 5 -5, 0 5, -5 -5), (-2 -2, -2 0, 2 0, 2
-2, -2 -2)), ((10 -5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5))) in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPolygon('MultiPolygon (((-5 -5, 5 -5, 0 5, -5 -5), (-2 -2,

-2 0, 2 0, 2 -2, -2 -2)), ((10 -5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5)))') FROM dummy;
The following returns multipolygon in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPolygon('MultiPolygon M(((-5 -5 3, 5 -5 3, 0 5 3, -5 -5 3),

(-2 -2 3, -2 0 3, 2 0 3, 2 -2 3, -2 -2 3)), ((10 -5 3, 15 5 3, 5 5 3, 10 -5
3)))') FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPolygon('MultiPolygon Z(((-5 -5 4, 5 -5 7, 0 5 1, -5 -5 4),

(-2 -2 9, -2 0 4, 2 0 4, 2 -2 1, -2 -2 9)), ((10 -5 2, 15 5 2, 5 5 3, 10 -5
2)))') FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPolygon('MultiPolygon ZM(((-5 -5 4 1, 5 -5 7 1, 0 5 1 1, -5

-5 4 1), (-2 -2 9 1, -2 0 4 1, 2 0 4 1, 2 -2 1 1, -2 -2 9 1)), ((10 -5 2 1, 15
5 2 1, 5 5 3 1, 10 -5 2 1)))') FROM dummy;
The following returns MultiPolygon (((-5 -5, 5 -5, 0 5, -5 -5), (-2 -2, -2 0, 2 0, 2
-2, -2 -2)), ((10 -5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5))).
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPolygon('MultiPolygon (((-5 -5, 5 -5, 0 5, -5 -5), (-2 -2,

-2 0, 2 0, 2 -2, -2 -2)), ((10 -5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5)))', 4326) FROM dummy;

3.7.1.3 ST_MultiPolygon(LONG BINARY [,INT])
Constructor
Constructs a multi polygon from Well Known Binary (WKB).
Syntax
NEW ST_MultiPolygon(<wkb> [,INT <srid>])
Parameters
Table 70:

sentation of a multi polygon in Well

Remarks
Constructs a multi polygon from a binary string representation.
Example
The following returns MultiPolygon (((10 -5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5))) in binary format.
SELECT NEW
ST_MultiPolygon(x'0106000000010000000103000000010000000400000000000000000024400
0000000000014c00000000000002e40000000000000144000000000000014400000000000001440
000000000000244000000000000014c0') FROM dummy;
The following returns MultiPolygon (((10 -5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5))) in binary format.
SELECT NEW
ST_MultiPolygon(x'0106000000010000000103000000010000000400000000000000000024400
0000000000014c00000000000002e40000000000000144000000000000014400000000000001440
000000000000244000000000000014c0', 1000004326) FROM dummy;

3.7.2 ST_Area Method
Computes the area of the multipolygon.
Syntax
<multipolygon-expression>.ST_Area(<unit_name>)
Parameters
Table 71:

Returns
DOUBLE Returns the area of the multipolygon.
Remarks
Computes the area of the multipolygon. The area of the multipolygon is the sum of the areas of the contained
polygons.
Example
SELECT NEW ST_MultiPolygon( 'MultiPolygon((( 0 0, 2 0, 1 2, 0 0 )),((10 2, 11

0, 12 2, 10 2)))' )
.ST_Area() FROM dummy;

SELECT NEW ST_MultiPolygon( 'MultiPolygon((( 0 0, 2 0, 1 2, 0 0 )),((10 2, 11

0, 12 2, 10 2)))', 1000004326).ST_Area() FROM dummy;
3.8 ST_Point Type
The ST_Point type is a 0-dimensional geometry and represents a single location.
Direct supertype
Constructor
ST_Point [page 142]
Methods
● Methods of ST_Point:
Table 72:
ST_M [page 145] ST_X [page 146] ST_Y [page 147] ST_Z [page 147]

3.8.1 ST_Point Constructor
Constructs a point.
Overload list
Table 73:
Name Description
ST_Point() [page 142] Constructs a point representing the empty set.
ST_Point(LONG VARCHAR [,INT]) [page 143] Constructs a point from a text representation.
ST_Point(LONG BINARY [,INT]) [page 144] Constructs a point from Well Known Binary (WKB).
ST_Point(DOUBLE,DOUBLE) [page 145] Constructs a 2D point from X,Y coordinates.
3.8.1.1 ST_Point() Constructor
Constructs a point representing the empty set.
Syntax
NEW ST_Point()
Example
SELECT NEW ST_Point().ST_IsEmpty() FROM dummy;

3.8.1.2 ST_Point(LONG VARCHAR [,INT]) Constructor
Constructs a point from a text representation.
Syntax
NEW ST_Point(<wkt> [,INT <srid>])
Parameters
Table 74:
<wkt>
LONG VARCHAR A string containing the text representa
tion of a point in Well Known Text
(WKT) format which is composed of x/
longitude and y/latitude.

Remarks
Constructs a point from a character string representation.
Example
The following returns 010100000000000000000024400000000000003440.
SELECT NEW ST_Point('Point (10 20)') FROM dummy;
The following returns 01E9030000000000000000244000000000000034400000000000003E40.
SELECT NEW ST_Point('Point Z(10 20 30)') FROM dummy;
The following returns 01D107000000000000000024400000000000003E400000000000004440.
SELECT NEW ST_Point('Point M(10 30 40)') FROM dummy;

01B90B0000000000000000244000000000000034400000000000003E400000000000004940.
SELECT NEW ST_Point('Point ZM(10 20 30 50)') FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_Point('Point (10 20)', 4326) FROM dummy;
3.8.1.3 ST_Point(LONG BINARY [,INT]) Constructor
Constructs a point from Well Known Binary (WKB).
Syntax
NEW ST_Point(<wkb> [,INT <srid>])
Parameters
Table 75:

sentation of a point in Well Known Bi
nary (WKB) format.

Remarks
Constructs a point from a binary string representation.
Example
SELECT NEW ST_Point(x'010100000000000000000024400000000000003440') FROM dummy;

SELECT NEW ST_Point(x'010100000000000000000024400000000000003440', 4326) FROM

dummy;
3.8.1.4 ST_Point(DOUBLE,DOUBLE) Constructor
Constructs a 2D point from X,Y coordinates.
Syntax
NEW ST_Point(<x>,<y>)
Parameters
Table 76:
<x>
DOUBLE The x/longitude coordinate value.
<y>
DOUBLE The y/latitude coordinate value.
Example
SELECT NEW ST_Point(10.0,20.0) FROM dummy;
3.8.2 ST_M Method
Returns the measure value of the ST_POINT value.
Syntax
<point-expression>.ST_M()

Returns
DOUBLE Returns the measure value of the ST_Point value.
Example
Example
The following example returns 70.
SELECT NEW ST_Point('Point M(10 40 70)').ST_M() FROM dummy;
3.8.3 ST_X Method
Returns the X coordinate of the ST_Point value.
Note
If the <point-expression> is an empty geometry (ST_IsEmpty()=1), then this method returns NULL.
Syntax
<point-expression>.ST_X()
Returns
DOUBLE Returns the X coordinate of the ST_Point value.
Example
SELECT NEW ST_Point( 'Point (1 2)').ST_X() FROM dummy;

3.8.4 ST_Y Method
Returns the Y coordinate of the ST_Point value.
Note
Syntax
<point-expression>.ST_Y()
Returns
DOUBLE Returns the Y coordinate of the ST_Point value.
Example
SELECT NEW ST_Point( 'Point (1 2)').ST_Y() FROM dummy;
3.8.5 ST_Z Method
Returns the Z coordinate of the ST_Point value.
Note
Syntax
<point-expression>.ST_Z()

Returns
DOUBLE Returns the Z coordinate of the ST_Point value.
Example
Example
SELECT NEW ST_Point( 'Point Z(1 2 3)').ST_Z() FROM dummy;
3.9 ST_Polygon Type
An ST_Polygon defines an area of space using an exterior ring and one or more interior rings, all defined using
ST_LineString.
Direct supertype
Constructor
ST_Polygon [page 149]
Methods
● Methods of ST_Polygon:
Table 77:
ST_Area [page 152] ST_Centroid [page 153] ST_ExteriorRing [page ST_InteriorRingN [page
154] 154]

3.9.1 ST_Polygon Constructor
Constructs a polygon.
Overload list
Table 78:
Name Description
ST_Polygon() [page 149] Constructs a polygon representing the empty set.
ST_Polygon(LONG VARCHAR [,INT]) [page 149] Constructs a polygon from a text representation.
ST_Polygon(LONG BINARY [,INT]) [page 151] Constructs a polygon from Well Known Binary (WKB).
3.9.1.1 ST_Polygon() Constructor
Constructs a polygon representing the empty set.
Syntax
NEW ST_Polygon()
Example
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon().ST_IsEmpty() FROM dummy;
3.9.1.2 ST_Polygon(LONG VARCHAR [,INT]) Constructor
Constructs a polygon from a text representation.
Syntax
NEW ST_Polygon(<text-representation> [,INT <srid>])

Parameters
Table 79:

tion of a polygon in Well Known Text
(WKT) format.

Remarks
Constructs a polygon from a character string representation.
Example
The following returns Polygon ((-5 -5, 5 -5, 0 5, -5 -5), (-2 -2, -2 0, 2 0, 2 -2, -2
-2)) in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon ((-5 -5, 5 -5, 0 5, -5 -5), (-2 -2, -2 0, 2 0,

2 -2, -2 -2))') FROM dummy;
The following returns the polygon in binary format.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon Z((-5 -5 6, 5 -5 6, 0 5 6, -5 -5 6), (-2 -2 1,

-2 0 1, 2 0 1, 2 -2 1, -2 -2 1))') FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon M((-5 -5 6, 5 -5 6, 0 5 6, -5 -5 6), (-2 -2 1,

-2 0 1, 2 0 1, 2 -2 1, -2 -2 1))') FROM dummy;
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon ZM((-5 -5 6 4, 5 -5 6 4, 0 5 6 4, -5 -5 6 4),

(-2 -2 1 4, -2 0 1 4, 2 0 1 4, 2 -2 1 4, -2 -2 1 4))') FROM dummy;

2 -2, -2 -2))', 4326) FROM dummy;

2 -2, -2 -2))', 1000004326) FROM dummy;

3.9.1.3 ST_Polygon(LONG BINARY [,INT]) Constructor
Constructs a polygon from Well Known Binary (WKB).
Syntax
NEW ST_Polygon(<wkb> [,INT <srid>])
Parameters
Table 80:

sentation of a polygon in Well Known
Binary (WKB) format.

Remarks
Constructs a polygon from a binary string representation.
Example
The following returns Polygon ((10 -5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5)) in binary format.
SELECT NEW
ST_Polygon(x'01030000000100000004000000000000000000244000000000000014c000000000
00002e4000000000000014400000000000001440000000000000144000000000000024400000000
0000014c0') FROM dummy;
The following returns Polygon ((10 -5, 15 5, 5 5, 10 -5)) in binary format.
SELECT NEW
ST_Polygon(x'01030000000100000004000000000000000000244000000000000014c000000000
00002e4000000000000014400000000000001440000000000000144000000000000024400000000
0000014c0', 1000004326) FROM dummy;

3.9.2 ST_Area Method
Calculates the area of a polygon.
Syntax
<polygon-expression>.ST_Area(<unit_name>)
Parameters
Table 81:

Returns
DOUBLE Returns the area of the polygon.
Remarks
The ST_Area method computes the area of a polygon.
Example
The following returns the result 1 as the area of the unit square.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon((0 0, 1 0, 1 1, 0 1, 0 0))').ST_Area() FROM

dummy;
The following returns the result 1 as the area of the unit square.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon((0 0, 1 0, 1 1, 0 1, 0 0))',

1000004326).ST_Area() FROM dummy;

3.9.3 ST_Centroid Method
Returns the ST_Point value that is the mathematical centroid of the polygon value.
Syntax
<polygon-expression>.ST_Centroid()
Returns
ST_Point If the polygon is the empty set, returns NULL. Otherwise, returns the mathematical centroid of the
polygon.
the <polygon-expression>.
Remarks
Returns the ST_Point value that is the mathematical centroid of the polygon value. This point will not
necessarily be a point on the polygon.
Example
The following returns the result 01010000000000000000001440ABAAAAAAAAAA1240.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon ((3 3, 8 3, 4 8, 3 3))').ST_Centroid() FROM

dummy;
The following returns the result 01010000000000000000001440ABAAAAAAAAAA1240.
SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon ((3 3, 8 3, 4 8, 3 3))',

1000004326).ST_Centroid() FROM dummy;

3.9.4 ST_ExteriorRing Method
Returns the exterior ring of the polygon.
Syntax
<polygon-expression>.ST_ExteriorRing()
Returns
ST_LineString Returns a line string representing the exterior ring of the POLYGON geometry.
Example
The following example returns the polygon with the specified external ring.

1))').ST_ExteriorRing() FROM dummy;
3.9.5 ST_InteriorRingN Method
Returns the nth interior ring in the polygon.
Syntax
<polygon-expression>.ST_InteriorRingN(<n>)

Parameters
Table 82:

from 1 to polygonexpression.
ST_NumInteriorRing().
Returns
ST_LineString Returns the nth interior ring in the polygon.
Example
The following example returns the inner ring as LINESTRING (1 1,2 2,2 1,1 1).

1))').ST_InteriorRingN( 1 ).ST_AsText() FROM dummy;
3.10 List of All Supported Methods
The following is a list of all supported spatial methods.
Table 83:
Method Type Round-Earth Description
ST_Area [page 140] ST_MultiPolygon [page 136] not supported Computes the area of the
multipolygon.
ST_Area [page 152] ST_Polygon [page 148] not supported Calculates the area of a poly
gon.
ST_AsBinary [page 36] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the WKB represen
tation of an ST_Geometry
value.
ST_AsEWKB [page 37] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the extended WKB
representation of an ST_Ge
ometry value.

ST_AsEWKT [page 37] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the extended WKT
representation of an ST_Ge
ometry value.
ST_AsGeoJSON [page 38] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns a string represent
ing a geometry in JSON for
mat.
ST_AsSVG [page 39] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns an SVG figure repre
senting a geometry value.
ST_AsSVGAggr [page 40] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns a complete or partial
SVG document which ren
ders the geometries in a
group.
ST_AsText [page 41] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the text representa
tion of an ST_Geometry
value.
ST_AsWKB [page 42] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the WKB represen
value.
ST_AsWKT [page 43] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the WKT represen
value.
ST_Boundary [page 44] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Returns the boundary of the
geometry value.
ST_Buffer [page 44] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Returns the ST_Geometry
value that represents all
points whose distance from
any point of an ST_Geometry
value is less than or equal to
a specified distance in the
given units.
ST_Centroid [page 153] ST_Polygon [page 148] not supported Returns the ST_Point value
that is the mathematical
centroid of the polygon
value.
ST_Contains [page 46] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Tests if a geometry value
spatially contains another
geometry value.
ST_ConvexHull [page 48] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Returns the convex hull of
the geometry value.

ST_ConvexHullAggr [page ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Returns the convex hull for
49]
all of the geometries in a
group.
ST_CoordDim [page 50] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the number of coor
dinate dimensions stored
with each point of the
ST_Geometry value.
ST_CoveredBy [page 52] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Tests if a geometry value is
spatially covered by another
geometry value.
ST_Covers [page 53] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Tests if a geometry value
spatially covers another ge
ometry value.
ST_Crosses [page 55] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Tests if a geometry value
crosses another geometry
value.
ST_Difference [page 56] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the geometry value
that represents the point set
difference of two geome
tries.
ST_Dimension [page 57] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the dimension of the
ST_Geometry value. Points
have dimension 0, lines have
dimension 1, and polygons
have dimension 2. Any
empty geometry has dimen
sion -1.
ST_Disjoint [page 58] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Test if a geometry value is
spatially disjoint from an
other value.
ST_Distance [page 60] ST_Geometry [page 34] partially supported (only Returns the smallest dis
point-point)
tance between the
<geometry-expression>
and the specified geometry
value.
ST_EndPoint [page 120] ST_LineString [page 116] supported Returns an ST_Point value
that is the end point.
ST_Envelope [page 61] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Returns the bounding rec
tangle for the geometry
value.

ST_EnvelopeAggr [page 62] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Returns the bounding rec
tangle for all of the geome
tries in a group.
ST_Equals [page 63] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Tests if an ST_Geometry

value is spatially equal to an
other ST_Geometry value.
ST_ExteriorRing [page 154] ST_Polygon [page 148] supported Returns the exterior ring of
the polygon.
ST_GeomFromEWKB [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Constructs a geometry from

64]
a string representation.
ST_GeomFromEWKT [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Constructs a geometry from

65]
ST_GeomFromText [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Constructs a geometry from

66]
a character string represen
tation.
ST_GeomFromWKB [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Constructs a geometry from

68]
ST_GeomFromWKT [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Constructs a geometry from

69]
ST_GeometryN [page 115] ST_GeometryCollection supported Returns the nth geometry in

[page 111]
the geometry collection.
ST_GeometryType [page 70] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the name of the type
of the ST_Geometry value.
ST_InteriorRingN [page 154] ST_Polygon [page 148] supported Returns the nth interior ring
in the polygon.
ST_Intersection [page 71] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the geometry value
intersection of two geome
tries.
ST_Intersects [page 72] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Test if a geometry value spa
tially intersects another
value.
ST_IntersectionAggr [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the spatial intersec
73]
tion of all of the geometries
in a group.

ST_IntersectsFilter [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported An inexpensive test if the two
74] geometries might intersect.
ST_IntersectsRect [page 74] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Test if a geometry intersects
a rectangle.
ST_Is3D [page 77] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Determines if the geometry
value has Z coordinate val
ues.
ST_IsClosed [page 121] ST_LineString [page 116] supported Test if the linestring is
closed. A linestring is closed
if the start and end points
are coincident.
ST_IsClosed [page 130] ST_MultiLineString [page supported Tests if the value is closed. A
126]
linestring is closed if the
start and end points are co
incident. A multilinestring is
closed if it is non-empty and
has an empty boundary.
ST_IsEmpty [page 78] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Determines whether the ge
ometry value represents an
empty set.
ST_IsMeasured [page 79] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Determines if the geometry
value has associated meas
ure values.
ST_IsRing [page 122] ST_LineString [page 116] supported Tests if the linestring is a
ring. A linestring is a ring if it
is closed and simple (no self
intersections).
ST_IsSimple [page 79] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Determines whether the ge
ometry value is simple (con
taining no self intersections
or other irregularities).
ST_IsValid [page 80] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Determines whether the ge
ometry is a valid spatial ob
ject.
ST_Length [page 123] ST_LineString [page 116] supported Retrieves the length meas
urement.

ST_Length [page 131] ST_MultiLineString [page supported Returns the length measure
126]
ment of all the linestrings in
the multilinestring.
ST_M [page 145] ST_Point [page 141] supported Retrieves or modifies the M
coordinate value of a point.
ST_MMax [page 81] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Retrieves the maximum M
coordinate value of a geome
try.
ST_MMin [page 81] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Retrieves the minimum M
try.
ST_NumGeometries [page ST_GeometryCollection supported Returns the number of geo

116] [page 111]
metries contained in the ge
ometry collection.
ST_NumInteriorRing [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the number of inte
82]
rior rings in the polygon.
ST_NumInteriorRings [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the number of inte
83]
rior rings in the polygon.
ST_NumPoints [page 124] ST_LineString [page 116] supported Returns the number of
points defining the linestring.
ST_OrderingEquals [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Tests if a geometry is identi

83]
cal to another geometry.
ST_Overlaps [page 85] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Tests if a geometry value
overlaps another geometry
value.
ST_Perimeter [page 87] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Computes the perimeter of
the multi-surface in the
specified unit.
ST_PointOnSurface [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns an ST_Point value

88]
that is guaranteed to spa
tially intersect the ST_Sur
face value.
ST_PointN [page 125] ST_LineString [page 116] supported Returns the <n>th point in
the linestring.
ST_Relate [page 89] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Tests if a geometry value is
spatially related to another
geometry value as specified
by the intersection matrix.

ST_SRID [page 90] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Retrieves or modifies the
spatial reference system as
sociated with the geometry
value.
ST_SRID(INT) [page 91] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Changes the spatial refer
ence system associated with
the geometry without modi
fying any of the values.
ST_SnapToGrid [page 92] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns a copy of the geom
etry with all points snapped
to the specified grid.
ST_StartPoint [page 126] ST_LineString [page 116] supported Returns an ST_Point value
that is the starting point.
ST_SymDifference [page 93] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the geometry value
symmetric difference of two
geometries.
ST_Touches [page 94] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Tests if a geometry value
spatially touches another ge
ometry value.
ST_Transform [page 96] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Creates a copy of the geom
etry value transformed into
the specified spatial refer
ence system.
ST_Union [page 97] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the geometry value
union of two geometries.
ST_UnionAggr [page 98] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the spatial union of
group.
ST_Within [page 99] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Tests if a geometry value is
spatially contained within an
other geometry value.
ST_WithinDistance [page ST_Geometry [page 34] partially supported (only Test if two geometries are
100] point-point)
within a specified distance of
each other.
ST_X [page 146] ST_Point [page 141] supported Retrieves or modifies the X

ST_XMax [page 102] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Retrieves the maximum X
try.
ST_XMin [page 103] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Retrieves the minimum X co
ordinate value of a geometry.
ST_Y [page 147] ST_Point [page 141] supported Retrieves or modifies the Y
ST_YMax [page 104] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Retrieves the maximum Y
try.
ST_YMin [page 105] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Retrieves the minimum Y co
ST_Z [page 147] ST_Point [page 141] supported Retrieves or modifies the Z
ST_ZMax [page 105] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Retrieves the maximum Z
try.
ST_ZMin [page 106] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Retrieves the minimum Z co
3.11 List of All Supported Constructors
The following is a list of all supported spatial constructors.
Table 84:
Constructor Description
ST_CircularString [page 107] Constructs a circularstring.
ST_GeometryCollection [page 111] Constructs a geometry collection.
ST_LineString [page 116] Constructs a linestring.
ST_MultiLineString [page 126] Constructs a multilinestring.
ST_MultiPoint [page 132] Constructs a multipoint.
ST_MultiPolygon [page 136] Constructs a multipolygon.

Constructor Description
ST_Point [page 141] Constructs a point.
ST_Polygon [page 148] Constructs a polygon.
3.12 List of Aggregate Methods
There are many aggregate methods available for use with spatial data.
Table 85:
group.
49]
group.
tries in a group.
73]
in a group.
group.

3.13 List of Set Operation Methods
The following is a list of set operation methods available for use with spatial data.
Table 86:
ST_Difference [page 56] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the geometry value
difference of two geome
tries.
ST_Intersection [page 71] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the geometry value
tries.
73]
in a group.
ST_SymDifference [page 93] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the geometry value
symmetric difference of two
geometries.
ST_Union [page 97] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the geometry value
union of two geometries.
group.
3.14 List of Static Methods
There are many static methods available for use with spatial data.
Table 87:
group.

49]
group.
tries in a group.
ST_GeomFromText [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Constructs a geometry from

66]
a character string represen
tation.
ST_GeomFromWKB [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Constructs a geometry from

68]
ST_GeomFromWKT [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Constructs a geometry from

69]
73]
in a group.
group.
3.15 List of Spatial Predicates
The following is a list of predicate methods available for use with spatial data.
Table 88:
ST_Contains [page 46] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Tests if a geometry value
spatially contains another
geometry value.
ST_CoveredBy [page 52] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Tests if a geometry value is
spatially covered by another
geometry value.
ST_Covers [page 53] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Tests if a geometry value
spatially covers another ge
ometry value.

ST_Crosses [page 55] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Tests if a geometry value
crosses another geometry
value.
ST_Disjoint [page 58] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Test if a geometry value is
spatially disjoint from an
other value.
ST_Equals [page 63] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Tests if an ST_Geometry

value is spatially equal to an
other ST_Geometry value.
ST_Intersects [page 72] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Returns the geometry value
tries.
ST_Intersects [page 72] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Test if a geometry value spa
tially intersects another
value.
73]
in a group.
ST_IntersectsFilter [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported An inexpensive test if the two
74] geometries might intersect.
ST_IntersectsRect [page 74] ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Test if a geometry intersects
a rectangle.
ST_OrderingEquals [page ST_Geometry [page 34] supported Tests if a geometry is identi

83]
cal to another geometry.
ST_Overlaps [page 85] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Tests if a geometry value
overlaps another geometry
value.
ST_Relate [page 89] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Tests if a geometry value is
spatially related to another
geometry value as specified
by the intersection matrix.
ST_Touches [page 94] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Tests if a geometry value
spatially touches another ge
ometry value.
ST_Within [page 99] ST_Geometry [page 34] not supported Tests if a geometry value is
spatially contained within an
other geometry value.

ST_WithinDistance [page ST_Geometry [page 34] partially supported (only Test if two geometries are
100] point-point)
within a specified distance of
each other.

4 Spatial Clustering
SAP HANA spatial provides spatial clustering using the algorithms grid, k-means, and DBSCAN. Spatial
clustering can be performed on a set of geospatial points (referred to hereafter as the original data set) in the
SAP HANA system.
4.1 Introduction to Spatial Clustering
Spatial clustering groups a set of points with regard to certain criteria into clusters. A cluster is a partition of
the original point set.
Note
Spatial clustering for SAP HANA spatial is available for two-dimensional points in flat-earth spatial reference
systems (for example WGS 84 (planar) - SRID 1000004326).
The grouping criteria depend on the clustering algorithm that is applied on the points and on the
parameterization of the cluster algorithm. SAP spatial provides the following algorithms:
● Grid
● K-means
● DBSCAN
Clustering provides many insights into the data set. Most of the time operators are interested in the following:
● Association of each data point to a cluster (identified by a cluster ID)

● Characteristics of each cluster, for example:
○ Centroid
○ Envelope
● Aggregates on data associated with the points located in a cluster:
○ Number of points
○ Average measurement ( average household income level for example)
○ Aggregation functions (ST_ConvexHullAggr, ST_EnvelopeAggr, ST_Intersection_Aggr)

168 PUBLIC Spatial Clustering
4.2 Cluster Algorithms
SAP HANA spatial supports several cluster algorithms.
4.2.1 Grid
SAP HANA spatial supports a grid-based aggregation. The following methods are available for the grid
algorithm: ST_ClusterID(), ST_ClusterEnvelope().
Grid clustering provides a quick and easy way to use clustering. It is useful for providing a first impression. For
deeper analysis, you can use the other algorithms.
The mapping for the grid clustering is defined with respect to the grid. A grid is a rectangle that can be further
divided into a set of inner rectangles (cells). Rather than intersecting the grid, these cells tessellate it. Every
cell has a unique cluster identifier. You can specify the number of grid cells in the X and Y direction. You can
also specify the location of the grid.
Note
If no boundaries are defined, the cluster grid is created automatically. In this case all points belong to
clusters with ST_ClusterID greater than 0.
If boundaries are defined, points could be located outside the defined grid. These points are called outliers
and are assigned to the outlier cluster with ST_ClusterID 0. ST_ClusterEnvelope() for the outlier cluster is
NULL.

Spatial Clustering PUBLIC 169
SAP HANA spatial grid clustering uses the following parameters:
● X CELLS <int> Y CELLS <int> (mandatory)

The number of cells is X times Y
The number of clusters can be less than X times Y, because cells without points do not count as clusters.
For X = 10 and Y = 10, the situation could be:
○ 100 = number of cells
○ 81 = number of clusters (19 cells do not contain points)
The boundary of the overall grid rectangle is determined by the points to be investigated.
● BETWEEN <left-point> AND <right-point> (optional, X values)
Determines the X values of the overall grid rectangle regardless of the points to be investigated
● BETWEEN <lower-point> AND <upper-point> (optional, Y values)
Determines the Y values of the overall grid rectangle regardless of the points to be investigated
The following combinations of the mandatory and optional parameters are possible:
● X CELLS <int> Y CELLS <int>

(example: X CELLS 50 Y CELLS 50)
● X BETWEEN <left-point> AND <right-point> CELLS <int> Y CELLS <int>
(example: X BETWEEN 0 AND 100 CELLS 50 Y CELLS 50)
● X CELLS <int> Y BETWEEN <lower-point> AND <upper-point> CELLS <int>
(example: X CELLS 50 Y BETWEEN 0 AND 200 CELLS 50)
● X BETWEEN <left-point> AND <right-point> CELLS <int> Y BETWEEN <lower-point> AND <upper-
point> CELLS <int>
(example: X BETWEEN 0 AND 100 CELLS 50 Y BETWEEN 0 AND 200 CELLS 50)
Assignment rules for cluster points
Points which are inside a cell and not at a boundary are assigned to this cell. The assignment of points on the
boundary need to be defined. The assignment of points is made according to the following rules (points with
black fill belong to cell; points with white fill do not belong to the cell):
Table 89:
Position Rule Graphic
Points inside a cell All points inside a cell belong to the cell.

Position Rule Graphic
Boundary points of any cell All points on the left boundary of the
cell except the point with the highest Y
value belong to the cell. The point with
the highest Y value belongs to the
neighbor above.
All points on the lower boundary of the

cell except the point with the highest X
value belong to the cell. The point with
the highest X value belongs to the
neighbor to the right.
Boundary points of all cells of the upper All points on the upper boundary ex
boundary of the overall grid rectangle cept the point with the highest X value
(no neighbor above) except the upper belong to the cell.
right cell (see last rule)
Boundary points of all cells of the right- All points on the right-hand boundary
hand boundary of the overall grid rec of a cell belong to the cell, except the
tangle (no neighbor to the right) except one with the highest Y value.
the upper right cell (see last rule)
Boundary points of the upper right cell All boundary points belong to the cell.
(no neighbor above and no neighbor to
the right)
Points completely outside the defined All outliers are assigned to the outlier
grid (outliers) cluster with ST_ClusterID 0.

4.2.2 K-Means
SAP HANA spatial supports k-means clustering. The following methods are available for the k-means
algorithm: ST_ClusterID(), ST_ClusterCentroid().
K-means is a clustering algorithm. It is best suited for spherical clusters. K-means is centroid based. The
higher complexity of the algorithm provides better insights.
K-means tries to find an assignment of points to clusters, so that the sum of squared distances of the points to
the center of the cluster they belong to is minimal. The initialization is performed randomly. RANDOM
PARTITION starts by assigning every point to one of the random k clusters. FORGY starts with the random
choice of k cluster centers.
The iterations now start. They try to find a better solution according to the sum of the squared distances. The
iterations stops when MAXITERATIONS is reached, or the change of the sum of squared distances between
two iterations is below the THRESHOLD.
Note
K-means is not deterministic. k-means might therefore produce different results with the same parameters
on the same data set.
In SAP HANA spatial k-means uses the following parameters:
● CLUSTERS <int> (mandatory)

Number of clusters to be created
● MAXITERATIONS <int> (optional, default 128)
Maximum number of iterations to be performed
● THRESHOLD <real> (optional, default 0)
Threshold for the change of the sum of the squared distances between two iterations
● INIT RANDOM PARTITION or INIT FORGY (optional, default FORGY)

Initialization method; FORGY is the recommended method
For more information about k-means, see k-means clustering
Example
The following example shows clusters of restaurants in Berlin:
4.2.3 DBSCAN
SAP HANA spatial supports DBSCAN clustering. The following method is available for the DBSCAN algorithm:
ST_ClusterID().
Density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) is a data clustering algorithm. DBSCAN
is best suited for non-spherical clusters. The higher complexity of the algorithm provides better insights.

The set of points with a distance of less than or equal to EPS are called the neighborhood of this point. There
are the following classes of points:
● If a data point has at least MINPTS data points in its neighborhood, including itself, it is called a core point.
● If a data point is within the neighborhood of a core point, but not a core point itself, it is called a border
point.
● All other points, i.e. points that are not within the neighborhood of a core point, are called outliers or
noise.
The points are grouped into clusters according to these rules:
● Two core points x and y belong to the same cluster if - and only if - there is a sequence of core points x =
x_1, x_2, …, x_n = y, such that the distance of x_(n-1) and x_n is less than or equal to EPS; i.e. every point is
in the neighborhood of its successor and predecessor.
● Border points are assigned to the same cluster that a core point in their neighborhood is assigned to. Note
that this might not be uniquely defined; there might be more than one core point in the border points
neighborhood.
● Outliers are assigned to the outlier cluster with ST_ClusterID 0.
In SAP HANA, spatial DBSCAN uses the following parameters:
● EPS <int> (mandatory)

Neighborhood radius
● MINPTS <int> (mandatory)
The number of data points that must be contained in the neighborhood of a point in order to make it a core
point
For more information about DBSCAN, see DBSCAN

4.3 SQL Syntax for Spatial Clustering
For spatial clustering, special clauses are provided in a SELECT statement.
4.3.1 Window Functions
Clustering functions are supported as SQL window functions.
Syntax
<spatial_window_function> ::= <spatial_window_func_type>

OVER ( <window_cluster_by_clause> [<window_order_by_clause>] )
The spatial window function clause is part of the select clause of a subquery. Example:
SELECT <spatial_window_function> <from_clause> ...
The spatial window function clause consists of:
● Spatial window function type

● Window cluster by clause
● Window order by clause
Spatial window function type
<spatial_window_func_type> ::= <window_func> |

<aggregate_func> |
<cluster_metadata_func>
There are the following spatial window function types:
● Window functions
● Aggregate functions
● Cluster metadata functions
<window_func> ::= all existing window_function_types

(for example ROW_NUMBER, RANK, FIRST_VALUE, NTH_VALUE, …)
For a complete list of supported window functions, see Window Functions in SAP HANA SQL and System Views
Reference.
<aggregate_func> ::= COUNT(*) | <agg_name> ( <expression> )

<agg_name> ::= COUNT | MIN | MAX | SUM | AVG | STDDEV | VAR

The spatial aggregation functions are also supported (for example ST_AsSVGAggr). For information about the
spatial aggregation functions, see the SAP HANA Spatial Reference.
<cluster_metadata_func> ::= ST_ClusterId() |

ST_ClusterCentroid() |
ST_ClusterEnvelope()
Window cluster by clause
<cluster_by_clause> ::= GROUP CLUSTER BY <spatial_column_name>

USING <cluster_algorithm>
The <spatial_column_name> is a table column of type ST_POINT, or of type ST_GEOMETRY containing only
points.
<cluster_algorithm> ::= <dbscan> | <grid> | <kmeans>

<dbscan> ::= DBSCAN
EPS <double>
MINPTS <integer>
<grid> ::= GRID
X [BETWEEN <left-point> AND <right-point>] CELLS <integer>
Y [BETWEEN <lower-point> AND <upper-point>] CELLS <integer>
<kmeans> ::= KMEANS
CLUSTERS <integer>
[MAXITERATIONS <integer>]
[THRESHOLD <integer>]
[INIT RANDOM PARTITION | INIT FORGY]
Window order by clause
<window_order_by_clause> ::= ORDER BY {<window_order_by_expression>}
<window_order_by_expression> ::= <expression> [ASC | DESC]

[NULLS FIRST | NULLS LAST]
[, <window_order_by_expression>]
4.3.2 GROUP CLUSTER BY
Clustering functions are supported as a GROUP CLUSTER BY clause.
Syntax
<subquery> ::= <select_clause>

<from_clause>
[<where_clause>]
[<group_by_clause> | <cluster_by_clause>]
[<having_clause>]
[<set_operator> <subquery> [{, <set_operator> <subquery>}...]]
[<order_by_clause>]
[<limit>]
For spatial clustering, the CLUSTER BY clause has been added.
For more information, see Select in the SAP HANA SQL and System Views Reference.
SELECT clause
In the select clause, you can use the methods for spatial clustering (ST_ClusterID(), ST_ClusterCentroid(),
ST_ClusterEnvelope()) that can be used to investigate the data provided by the cluster algorithms.
Cluster by clause
<cluster_by_clause> ::= GROUP CLUSTER BY <spatial_column_name>

USING <cluster_algorithm>
The <spatial_column_name> is a table column of type ST_POINT, or of type ST_GEOMETRY containing only
points.
Cluster algorithm
<cluster_algorithm> ::= <dbscan> | <grid> | <kmeans>

<dbscan> ::= DBSCAN
EPS <double>
MINPTS <integer>
<grid> ::= GRID
X [BETWEEN <left-point> AND <right-point>] CELLS <integer>
Y [BETWEEN <lower-point> AND <upper-point>] CELLS <integer>
<kmeans> ::= KMEANS
CLUSTERS <integer>
[MAXITERATIONS <integer>]
[THRESHOLD <integer>]
[INIT RANDOM PARTITION | INIT FORGY]
SAP HANA spatial provides spatial clustering using the algorithms grid, k-means, and DBSCAN.

4.4 Methods for Spatial Clustering
SAP HANA spatial provides methods to perform spatial clustering.
The following methods are provided:
● ST_ClusterID() - cluster algorithms Grid, K-Means, DBSCAN

● ST_ClusterCentroid() - cluster algorithm K-Means
● ST_ClusterEnvelope() - cluster algorithm Grid
4.4.1 ST_ClusterID Method
Returns the cluster ID of a given point. This method works for all cluster algorithms (Grid, K-Means, DBSCAN).
Syntax
ST_ClusterID()
Parameters
Table 90:
Table column ST_Point Method ST_ClusterID operates on table

columns of type ST_Point.
Returns
Metadata Returns the cluster ID for a given point.
Example
The following example returns cluster IDs and the number of points for each cluster:
SELECT ST_ClusterID() AS cluster_id, COUNT(*) AS counter

FROM CLUSTER.VENDING_MACHINES
GROUP CLUSTER BY LOCATION
USING GRID X CELLS 10 Y CELLS 10;

4.4.2 ST_ClusterCentroid Method
Computes the ST_Point. This is the mathematical centroid of a cluster. This method works for the following
cluster algorithm: K-Means.
Syntax
ST_ClusterCentroid()
Parameters
Table 91:
Table column ST_Point Method ST_ClusterCentroid operates

on table columns of type ST_Point.
Returns
Metadata Returns the centroid of a cluster.
Example
The following example returns cluster centroids and the number of points per cluster:
SELECT ST_ClusterCentroid() AS centroidcluster,

COUNT(*) AS counter
USING KMEANS
CLUSTERS 5
MAXITERATIONS 10
THRESHOLD 0.01
INIT RANDOM PARTITION;

4.4.3 ST_ClusterEnvelope Method
Returns the geometry of a cell (inner rectangle). This method works for the following cluster algorithm: Grid.
Syntax
ST_ClusterEnvelope()
Parameters
Table 92:
Table column ST_Point The method ST_Envelope operates on

table columns of type ST_Point.
Returns
Metadata Returns the envelope of a cluster.
Example
The following example returns the cluster IDs and the cluster envelopes:
SELECT ST_ClusterID() AS cluster_id,

ST_ClusterEnvelope() AS clusterenvelope
USING GRID X CELLS 10 Y CELLS 10;
4.5 Use Cases for Spatial Clustering
Spatial clustering provides metadata, so that geographical information can be used to group data.
You can investigate and group data by many different attributes. You can investigate the income of
households or the revenue of vending machines for example. Columns containing attributes (for example
CITY, STATE, COUNTRY) used for grouping data (GROUP BY/PARTITION BY) provide basic information, but
this might not be sufficient.

With spatial clustering (GROUP CLUSTER BY, CLUSTER BY) you can use geographical information together
with other attributes (income and revenue for example) to cluster data.
Finding clusters with high or low household income
A company wants to establish a new chain of luxury stores and a new chain of discounters in the United States.
To find suitable locations for their luxury stores, the company would like to identify areas with a
preponderance of high-income households. For their discounters, they would like to find areas with a
preponderance of low-income households.
The company has the data for a total of 120 million households in the United States, including their location
and income. The management team wants to visualize areas with a preponderance of high-income households
and areas with a preponderance of low-income households on a map.
A simplified table containing the household data could be defined as following:
CREATE COLUMN TABLE HOUSEHOLDS (

HHID INT PRIMARY KEY,
STATE CHAR(2),
LOCATION ST_POINT,
INCOME DECIMAL(11,2));
The following statements show examples of how the necessary information can be retrieved using GROUP BY
or CLUSTER BY.
GROUP BY
A grouping on a pre-defined area (in this case state) could be defined as:
SELECT
STATE,
COUNT(*) AS number_of_households,
AVG(INCOME) AS household_income
FROM HOUSEHOLDS
WHERE INCOME > 120000
GROUP BY STATE
HAVING COUNT(*) >= 1000;
This query finds the number of households with an income of more than $120,000 per state and the average
income of these households with more than $120,000 income as long as there are at least 1,000 of these
households in the state. The STATE is the key to further information of this area. The shape and the centroid of
the state could be located in an extra table accessed via the state abbreviation.
GROUP CLUSTER BY
With spatial clustering, you investigate the information about the household income in conjunction with a
cluster algorithm. The following query provides information about the cluster centroids, which can give you a
first impression of the situation:
SELECT
ST_ClusterId() AS cluster_id,
ST_ClusterCentroid() AS centroid,
AVG(INCOME) AS average_cluster_income
FROM HOUSEHOLDS

GROUP CLUSTER BY LOCATION USING KMEANS CLUSTERS 100
HAVING COUNT(*) >= 300;
With the following statement, you can combine all centroids to one scalable vector graphic:
SELECT ST_AsSVGAggr(centroid) from

(SELECT
ST_ClusterId() AS cluster_id,
ST_ClusterCentroid() AS centroid,
AVG(INCOME) AS average_cluster_income
FROM HOUSEHOLDS
GROUP CLUSTER BY LOCATION USING KMEANS CLUSTERS 100
HAVING COUNT(*) >= 300);
Finding clusters with high or low vending machine revenue
A vending machine supplier has its vending machines distributed and operating across the United States. The
company knows the location of each vending machine and its revenue from the past year.
It would like to identify lucrative areas where the vending machines produced higher revenue and non-lucrative
areas where its machines produced low revenue. It wants to visualize these areas on a map. It also wants to be
able to zoom into these areas, and be able to retrieve detailed information, such as the ID and revenue of each
vending machine.
A simplified table containing the vending machine data could be defined as:
CREATE COLUMN TABLE VENDING_MACHINES (

VM_ID INT PRIMARY KEY,
STATE CHAR(2),
LOCATION ST_POINT,
REVENUE DECIMAL(11,2));
The following statements show examples of how the required information can be retrieved using GROUP BY/
PARTITION BY or CLUSTER BY in a window function.
GROUP BY/PARTITION BY
With GROUP BY/PARTITION BY, you can investigate the data on a pre-defined group (in this case state).
The following query finds the number and average revenue of vending machines per state, which have less
than $60,000 revenue.
SELECT
STATE,
COUNT(*) AS number_of_vending_machines,
AVG(REVENUE) AS average_revenue
FROM VENDING_MACHINES
WHERE REVENUE < 60000
GROUP BY STATE;
The following query finds the rank of vending machines per state, which have less than $60,000 revenue, and
ranks them by revenue in ascending order.
SELECT
STATE,

RANK() OVER (PARTITION BY STATE ORDER BY REVENUE ASC) AS RANK,
REVENUE,
VM_ID
WHERE REVENUE < 60000;
CLUSTER BY (window functions)

You can perform the spatial clustering as a window function. The cluster by clause is located in the select
clause.
In the following query, the clusters for vending machines with less than $60,000 are determined:
SELECT
ST_ClusterID() OVER (CLUSTER BY LOCATION USING DBSCAN EPS 100 MINPTS 5)
AS cluster_id,
REVENUE, VM_ID, LOCATION
WHERE REVENUE < 60000
ORDER BY cluster_id;
In the following query, ST_ClusterID() and RANK() are combined. In the query in brackets, ST_ClusterID() is
performed as a window function, while in the surrounding query RANK() is performed on cluster_id. The
vending machines are grouped by cluster and ranked inside the clusters by revenue:
SELECT cluster_id, REVENUE, VM_ID,

RANK() OVER (PARTITION BY cluster_id order by REVENUE ASC) AS rank,
LOCATION
FROM (SELECT ST_ClusterID() OVER (CLUSTER BY LOCATION USING DBSCAN EPS 100
MINPTS 5)
AS cluster_id,
WHERE REVENUE < 60000)
ORDER BY cluster_id;
In the following query ST_ClusterID() and RANK() are combined in the select clause. ST_ClusterID()
(CLUSTER BY LOCATION ...) and RANK() (CLUSTER BY LOCATION ... ORDER BY REVENUE) are performed as
window functions. The vending machines are grouped by cluster and ranked inside the clusters by revenue:
SELECT
ST_CLusterID()
OVER (CLUSTER BY LOCATION USING DBSCAN EPS 100 MINPTS 5) AS cluster_id,
RANK()
OVER (CLUSTER BY LOCATION USING DBSCAN EPS 100 MINPTS 5
ORDER BY REVENUE ASC) AS rank,
WHERE REVENUE < 60000;
Comparison of GROUP BY and CLUSTER BY
The way spatial clustering and window functions are used is similar. This is a comparison using the examples
above:
1. You group your data set by a column (for example STATE) or you determine geographical clusters using
an algorithm on a column containing geospatial points.

2. Within the group or the cluster, you order the data by a column (for example REVENUE).
3. Within the group or the cluster, you rank the data (starting with 1 for the highest REVENUE for example ).
Note
The main difference between the two methods is:
● GROUP BY groups the data set using information contained in the column(s).
● CLUSTER BY splits the data set into clusters, which are determined by geospatial point data using an
algorithm.
Further investigations on the data set are similar. Using spatial clustering provides a benefit however,
because it helps to investigate data from a geospatial point of view as well.

5 Appendix
The appendix provides additional information.
5.1 SQL Statements
Reference material for SQL statements mentioned in this document.
5.1.1 CREATE SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM Statement
Creates a spatial reference system.
Syntax
CREATE SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM <srs-name>

[ srs-attribute ] [ srs-attribute ... ]
srs-attribute - (back to Syntax)
SRID <srs-id>
| DEFINITION { <definition-string> | NULL }
| ORGANIZATION
{ <organization-name> IDENTIFIED BY <organization-srs-id> | NULL }
| TRANSFORM DEFINITION { <transform-definition-string> | NULL }
| LINEAR UNIT OF MEASURE <linear-unit-name>
| ANGULAR UNIT OF MEASURE { <angular-unit-name> | NULL }
| TYPE { ROUND EARTH | PLANAR }
| COORDINATE <coordinate-name>
{ UNBOUNDED | BETWEEN <low-number> AND <high-number> }
| ELLIPSOID SEMI MAJOR AXIS <semi-major-axis-length>
{ SEMI MINOR AXIS <semi-minor-axis-length> |
INVERSE FLATTENING <inverse-flattening-ratio> }
| TOLERANCE { <tolerance-distance> | DEFAULT }
| SNAP TO GRID { grid-size | DEFAULT }
| AXIS ORDER axis-order
| POLYGON FORMAT polygon-format
| STORAGE FORMAT storage-format
grid-size - (back to srs-attribute)
DOUBLE : usually between 0 and 1
axis-order - (back to srs-attribute)
{ 'x/y/z/m' | 'long/lat/z/m' | 'lat/long/z/m' }
polygon-format - (back to srs-attribute)
{ 'CounterClockWise' | 'Clockwise' | 'EvenOdd' }
storage-format - (back to srs-attribute)
{ 'Internal' | 'Original' | 'Mixed' }

Appendix PUBLIC 185
Parameters
Table 93:
Name Description
IDENTIFIED BY The SRID (srs-id) for the spatial reference system.
If the spatial reference system is defined by an organization with an organization-srs-id,

then srs-id should be set to that value.
If the IDENTIFIED BY clause is not specified, then the SRID defaults to the organization srs-
id defined by either the ORGANIZATION clause or the DEFINITION clause. If neither clause
defines an organization-srs-id that could be used as a default SRID, an error is returned.
When the spatial reference system is based on a well known coordinate system, but has a
different geodesic interpretation, set the srs-id value to be 1000000000 (one billion) plus
the well known value. For example, the SRID for a planar interpretation of the geodetic spa
tial reference system WGS 84 (ID 4326) would be 1000004326.
With the exception of SRID 0, spatial reference systems provided by SAP HANA that are
not based on well known systems are given a SRID of 2000000000 (two billion) and above.
The range of SRID values from 2000000000 to 2147483647 is reserved by SAP HANA and
you should not create SRIDs in this range.
To reduce the possibility of choosing a SRID that is reserved by a defining authority such as
OGC or by other vendors, you should not choose a SRID in the range 0 - 32767 (reserved by
EPSG), or in the range 2147483547 - 2147483647.
Also, since the SRID is stored as a signed 32-bit integer, the number cannot exceed
(2^31)-1 or 2147483647.
DEFINITION Set the coordinate system definition.
<definition-string> is a string in the Spatial Reference System Well Known Text syn
tax as defined by SQL/MM and OGC.
ORGANIZATION Information about the organization that created the spatial reference system that the spa
tial reference system is based on.
TRANSFORM DEFINITION A description of the transform to use for the spatial reference system. Currently, only the
PROJ.4 transform is supported. The transform definition is used by the ST_Transform
method when transforming data between spatial reference systems. Some transforms may
still be possible even if there is no transform definition-string defined.

186 PUBLIC Appendix
Name Description
LINEAR UNIT OF MEASURE The linear unit of measure for the spatial reference system.
The value you specify must match a linear unit of measure defined in the
ST_UNITS_OF_MEASURE system view.
If this clause is not specified, and is not defined in the DEFINITION clause, the default is ME
TRE. To add predefined units of measure to the database, use the sa_install_feature sys
tem procedure.
To add custom units of measure to the database, use the CREATE SPATIAL UNIT OF
MEASURE statement.
Note
While both METRE and METER are accepted spellings, METRE is preferred as it con
forms to the SQL/MM standard.
ANGULAR UNIT OF MEAS The angular unit of measure for the spatial reference system.
URE
The value you specify must match an angular unit of measure defined in the
ST_UNITS_OF_MEASURE system table.
If this clause is not specified, and is not defined in the DEFINITION clause, the default is DE
GREE for geographic spatial reference systems and NULL for non-geographic spatial refer
ence systems.
The angular unit of measure must be non-NULL for geographic spatial reference systems
and it must be NULL for non-geographic spatial reference systems.
To add custom units of measure to the database, use the CREATE SPATIAL UNIT OF
MEASURE statement.

Appendix PUBLIC 187
Name Description
TYPE Control how the SRS interprets lines between points.
For geographic spatial reference systems, the TYPE clause can specify either ROUND
EARTH (the default) or PLANAR. The ROUND EARTH model interprets lines between points
as great elliptic arcs. Given two points on the surface of the Earth, a plane is selected that
intersects the two points and the center of the Earth. This plane intersects the Earth, and
the line between the two points is the shortest distance along this intersection.
For two points that lie directly opposite each other, there is not a single unique plane that
intersects the two points and the center of the Earth. Line segments connecting these anti
podal points are not valid and give an error in the ROUND EARTH model.
The ROUNDEARTH model treats the Earth as a spheroid and selects lines that follow the
curvature of the Earth. In some cases, it may be necessary to use a planar model where a
line between two points is interpreted as a straight line in the equirectangular projection
where x=long, y=lat.
In the following example, the blue line shows the line interpretation used in the ROUND
EARTH model and the red line shows the corresponding PLANAR model.
The PLANAR model may be used to match the interpretation used by other products. The
PLANAR model may also be useful because there are some limitations for methods that are
not supported in the ROUND EARTH model (such as ST_Area, ST_ConvexHull) and some
are partially supported (ST_Distance only supported between point geometries). Geome
tries based on circularstrings are not supported in ROUND EARTH spatial reference sys
tems.
For non-geographic SRSs, the type must be PLANAR (and that is the default if the TYPE
clause is not specified and either the DEFINITION clause is not specified or it uses a non
geographic definition).

188 PUBLIC Appendix
Name Description
COORDINATE The bounds on the spatial reference system's dimensions.
Coordinate name is the name of the coordinate system used by the spatial reference sys
tem. For nongeographic coordinate systems, coordinate-name can be x, y, or m. For geo
graphic coordinate systems, coordinate-name can be LATITUDE, LONGITUDE, z, or m.
Specify UNBOUNDED to place no bounds on the dimensions. Use the BETWEEN clause to
set low and high bounds.
The X and Y coordinates must have associated bounds. For geographic spatial reference
systems, the longitude coordinate is bounded between -180 and 180 degrees and the lati
tude coordinate is bounded between -90 and 90 degrees by default unless the COORDI
NATE clause overrides these settings. For non-geographic spatial reference systems, the
CREATE statement must specify bounds for both X and Y coordinates.
LATITUDE and LONGITUDE are used for geographic coordinate systems. The bounds for
LATITUDE and LONGITUDE default to the entire Earth, if not specified.
ELLIPSOID The values to use for representing the Earth as an ellipsoid for spatial reference systems of
type ROUND EARTH. If the DEFINITION clause is present, it can specify ellipsoid definition.
If the ELLIPSOID clause is specified, it overrides this default ellipsoid.
The Earth is not a perfect sphere because the rotation of the Earth causes a flattening so
that the distance from the center of the Earth to the North or South pole is less than the
distance from the center to the equator. For this reason, the Earth is modeled as an ellip
soid with different values for the semi-major axis (distance from center to equator) and
semi-minor axis (distance from center to the pole). It is most common to define an ellipsoid
using the semi-major axis and the inverse flattening, but it can instead be specified using
the semi-minor axis (for example, this approach must be used when a perfect sphere is
used to approximate the Earth). The semi-major and semi-minor axes are defined in the lin
ear units of the spatial reference system, and the inverse flattening (1/f) is a ratio:
1/f = (semi-major-axis) / (semi-major-axis - semi-minor-

axis)
SAP HANA uses the ellipsoid definition when computing distance in geographic spatial ref
erence systems.
SNAP TO GRID Flat-Earth (planar) spatial reference systems, use the SNAP TO GRID clause to define the
size of the grid SAP HANA uses when performing calculations.
By default, SAP HANA selects a grid size so that 12 significant digits can be stored at all
points in the space bounds for X and Y. For example, if a spatial reference system bounds X
between -180 and 180 and Y between -90 and 90, then a grid size of 0.000000001 (1E-9) is
selected.

Appendix PUBLIC 189
Name Description
TOLERANCE Flat-Earth (planar) spatial reference systems, use the TOLERANCE clause to specify the
precision to use when comparing points.
If the distance between two points is less than tolerance-distance, the two points are con
sidered equal. Setting tolerance-distance allows you to control the tolerance for impreci
sion in the input data or limited internal precision. By default, tolerance-distance is set to be
equal to grid-size.
When set to 0, two points must be exactly equal to be considered equal.
For round-Earth spatial reference systems, TOLERANCE must be set to 0.
POLYGON FORMAT Internally, SAP HANA interprets polygons by looking at the orientation of the constituent
rings. As one travels a ring in the order of the defined points, the inside of the polygon is on
the left side of the ring. The same rules are applied in PLANAR and ROUND EARTH spatial
reference systems. The interpretation used by SAP HANA is a common but not universal
interpretation. Some products use the exact opposite orientation, and some products do
not rely on ring orientation to interpret polygons. The POLYGONFORMAT clause can be
used to select a polygon interpretation that matches the input data, as needed. The follow
ing values are supported:
● CounterClockwise – Input follows SAP HANA's internal interpretation: the inside of

the polygon is on the left side while following ring orientation.
● Clockwise – Input follows the opposite of SAP HANA's approach: the inside of the pol
ygon is on the right side while following ring orientation.
● EvenOdd – (default) The orientation of rings is ignored and the inside of the polygon is
instead determined by looking at the nesting of the rings, with the exterior ring being
the largest ring and interior rings being smaller rings inside this ring. A ray is traced
from a point within the rings and radiating outward crossing all rings. If the number the
ring being crossed is an even number, it is an outer ring. If it is odd, it is an inner ring.
STORAGE FORMAT STORAGE FORMAT – control what is stored when spatial data is loaded into the database.
Possible values are:
● Internal – SAP HANA stores only the normalized representation. Specify this when the
original input characteristics do not need to be reproduced. This is the default for pla
nar spatial reference systems (TYPE PLANAR).
● Original – SAP HANA stores only the original representation. The original input char
acteristics can be reproduced, but all operations on the stored values must repeat nor
malization steps, possibly slowing down operations on the data.
● Mixed – SAP HANA stores the internal version and, if it is different from the original
version, SAP HANA stores the original version as well. By storing both versions, the
original representation characteristics can be reproduced and SAP HANA operations
on stored values do not need to repeat normalization steps. However, storage require
ments may increase significantly because potentially two representations are being
stored for each geometry. Mixed is the default format for round-Earth spatial reference
systems (TYPE ROUND EARTH).

190 PUBLIC Appendix
Example
Creates a spatial reference system named <mySpatialRS>:
CREATE SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM "mySpatialRS"

IDENTIFIED BY 1000026980
LINEAR UNIT OF MEASURE "meter"
TYPE PLANAR
COORDINATE X BETWEEN 171266.736269555 AND 831044.757769222
COORDINATE Y BETWEEN 524881.608973277 AND 691571.125115319
DEFINITION 'PROJCS["NAD83 / Kentucky South",
GEOGCS["NAD83",
DATUM["North_American_Datum_1983",
SPHEROID["GRS 1980",
6378137,298.257222101,AUTHORITY["EPSG","7019"]],
AUTHORITY["EPSG","6269"]],
PRIMEM["Greenwich",0,AUTHORITY["EPSG","8901"]],
UNIT["degree",0.01745329251994328,AUTHORITY["EPSG","9122"]],
AUTHORITY["EPSG","4269"]],
UNIT["metre",1,AUTHORITY["EPSG","9001"]],
PROJECTION["Lambert_Conformal_Conic_2SP"],
PARAMETER["standard_parallel_1",37.93333333333333],
PARAMETER["standard_parallel_2",36.73333333333333],
PARAMETER["latitude_of_origin",36.33333333333334],
PARAMETER["central_meridian",-85.75],
PARAMETER["false_easting",500000],
PARAMETER["false_northing",500000],
AUTHORITY["EPSG","26980"],
AXIS["X",EAST],
AXIS["Y",NORTH]]'
TRANSFORM DEFINITION '+proj=lcc
+lat_1=37.93333333333333 +lat_2=36.73333333333333
+lat_0=36.33333333333334 +lon_0=-85.75 +x_0=500000
+y_0=500000 +ellps=GRS80 +datum=NAD83 +units=m +no_defs';
Usage
For a geographic spatial reference system, you can specify both a LINEAR and an ANGULAR unit of measure;
otherwise for non-geographic, you specify only a LINEAR unit of measure. The LINEAR unit of measure is used
for computing distance between points and areas. The ANGULAR unit of measure tells how the angular
latitude/longitude are interpreted and is NULL for projected coordinate systems, non-NULL for geographic
coordinate systems.
All derived geometries returned by operations are normalized.
When working with data that is being synchronized with a non-SQL Anywhere database, STORAGE FORMAT
should be set to either 'Original' or 'Mixed' so that the original characteristics of the data can be preserved.
Permissions
Requires one of:
● MANAGE ANY SPATIAL OBJECT system privilege.

Appendix PUBLIC 191
● CREATE ANY OBJECT system privilege.
5.1.2 CREATE SPATIAL UNIT OF MEASURE Statement
Creates a spatial unit of measurement.
Syntax
CREATE SPATIAL UNIT OF MEASURE <identifier>

TYPE { LINEAR | ANGULAR }
[ CONVERT USING <number> ]
Parameters
Table 94:
Name Description
TYPE Defines whether the unit of measure is used for angles (ANGULAR) or distances (LINEAR).
CONVERT USING The conversion factor for the spatial unit relative to the base unit. For linear units, the base
unit is METRE. For angular units, the base unit is RADIAN.
Example
The following examples create different types of spatial units of measure:
CREATE SPATIAL UNIT OF MEASURE "meter" TYPE LINEAR convert using 1;
CREATE SPATIAL UNIT OF MEASURE "radian" TYPE ANGULAR convert using 1;
CREATE SPATIAL UNIT OF MEASURE "degree" TYPE ANGULAR convert using 0.017453293;
CREATE SPATIAL UNIT OF MEASURE "planar degree" TYPE LINEAR convert using
111120;
CREATE SPATIAL UNIT OF MEASURE "kilometre" TYPE LINEAR convert using 1000;
CREATE SPATIAL UNIT OF MEASURE "yard" TYPE LINEAR convert using 0.9144;

192 PUBLIC Appendix
Example
Creates a spatial unit of measure named <Test>:
CREATE SPATIAL UNIT OF MEASURE Test

TYPE LINEAR
CONVERT USING 15;
Usage
The CONVERT USING clause is used to define how to convert a measurement in the defined unit of measure to
the base unit of measure (radians or meters). The measurement is multiplied by the supplied conversion
factor to get a value in the base unit of measure. For example, a measurement of 512 millimeters would be
multiplied by a conversion factor of 0.001 to get a measurement of 0.512 metres.
Spatial reference systems always include a linear unit of measure to be used when calculating distances
(ST_Distance or ST_Length), or area. For example, if the linear unit of measure for a spatial reference system
is miles, then the area unit used is square miles. In some cases, spatial methods accept an optional parameter
that specifies the linear unit of measure to use. For example, if the linear unit of measure for a spatial reference
system is in miles, you could retrieve the distance between two geometries in meters by using the optional
parameter 'metre'.
For projected coordinate systems, the X and Y coordinates are specified in the linear unit of the spatial
reference system. For geographic coordinate systems, the latitude and longitude are specified in the angular
units of measure associated with the spatial reference system. In many cases, this angular unit of measure is
degrees but any valid angular unit of measure can be used.
You can use the sa_install_feature system procedure to add predefined units of measure to your database.
Permissions
Requires one of:
● MANAGE ANY SPATIAL OBJECT system privilege.

● CREATE ANY OBJECT system privilege.

Appendix PUBLIC 193
5.1.3 DROP SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM Statement
Drops a spatial reference system.
Syntax
DROP SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM <srs-name>
Parameters
Table 95:
Name Description
<srs-name> Identifier of the spatial reference system that has to be

dropped.
Remarks
You can only drop a spatial reference system, if it is not referenced by other objects.
Example
The following example drops a fictitious spatial reference system named <Test>.
DROP SPATIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM Test;
5.1.4 DROP SPATIAL UNIT OF MEASURE Statement
Drops a spatial unit of measurement.
Syntax
DROP SPATIAL UNIT OF MEASURE <identifier>

194 PUBLIC Appendix
Parameters
Table 96:
Name Description
<identifier> Identifier of the unit of measurement that has to be drop

ped.
Remarks
You can only drop a spatial unit of measurement, if it is not referenced by other objects.
Example
The following example drops a fictitious spatial unit of measurement named <Test>.
DROP SPATIAL UNIT OF MEASURE Test;
5.2 Geocoding
Geocoding is the process of converting address information into geographic locations. Since current business
data is associated with address information without location information, geocoding is crucial to enable
geographic analysis of this data.
For geocoding, you use the index type GEOCODE, which is similar to the FULLTEXT index. To create, maintain
and delete an index for geocoding, SQL statements are used.
Geocoding Using SAP HANA Smart Data Quality Within SAP HANA Spatial
Use the SAP HANA smart data quality option to provide geocoding information. This is a solution that has high
performance with no third party data and no need to use a web service, and it is not necessary to create a
flowgraph using Web-based Development Workbench. You may need a subscription to reference data from
SAP.
Geocoding Using Third Party Data
Geocoding can also be provided by an external provider such as Nokia HERE or TOMTOM, while the outbound
connectivity required is maintained and executed asynchronously in the XS engine. The index server provides

Appendix PUBLIC 195
jobs for geocoding, which are triggered by the table update. The geocoding processing is very similar to text
processing, with the difference that multiple columns are used as an input, only asynchronous processing is
supported, and the geocode column (the column which holds the converted addresses) is visible. The
GEOCODE column is visible for searches, but must not be altered or dropped.
To specify which columns correspond semantically to an address, each individual part must be explicitly
defined.
Geocoding Using SAP HANA Smart Data Quality Outside of SAP HANA
Spatial
SAP HANA smart data quality provides native geocoding and reverse geocoding capabilities in SAP HANA
Web-based Development Workbench. You can create flowgraphs using the Geocode node. You may need to
license additional software options as well as a subscription to reference data from SAP, which is used by
smart data quality to perform the geocoding and reverse geocoding operations. SAP HANA smart data quality
also includes data cleansing capabilities which is able to cleanse and enhance address information to improve
address geocoding capabilities natively in SAP HANA.
To find more information about how to use these capabilities natively in SAP HANA refer to the SAP HANA
Smart Data Integration and SAP HANA Smart Data Quality Configuration Guide, and navigate to
Transforming Data Geocode .
5.2.1 Create Index
To create a geocoding index, use the following SQL statement:
CREATE GEOCODE INDEX <name> ON <table_name> (

<column_name> COUNTRY,
<column_name> STATE,
<column_name> COUNTY,
<column_name> CITY,
<column_name> POSTAL_CODE,
<column_name> DISTRICT,
<column_name> STREET,
<column_name> HOUSE_NUMBER,
<column_name> ADDRESS_LINE,
<column_name> GEOCODE )
ASYNC[HRONOUS] [FLUSH [QUEUE] [EVERY <n> MINUTES] [[OR] AFTER <m> ROWS]]]
Note
When using a third-party geocode provider, at least one address column must be specified in addition to the
GEOCODE column. Specifying any additional columns is optional. When using the SAP HANA smart data
quality geocode, then you must map STREET, LOCALITY, POSTAL_CODE and COUTNRY.

196 PUBLIC Appendix
Table 97:
Name Description
COUNTRY This column holds the country name of an address. The data type has to be character like (inter
nally represented as string). If the column contains a value, it will be used for geocoding. If there is
no value, or the value is null, the country is ignored. The country name may be fully spelled, the 2-
character ISO country code, or the 3-character ISO country code.
STATE This column holds the state name of an address. The data type has to be character like (internally
represented as string). If the column contains a value, it will be used for geocoding. If there is no
value, or the value is null, the state is ignored.
COUNTY This column holds the county name of an address. The data type has to be character like (inter
nally represented as string). If the column contains a value it will be used for geocoding. If there is
no value, or the value is null, the county is ignored.
CITY This column holds the city name of an address. The data type has to be character like (internally
represented as string). If the column contains a value it will be used for geocoding. If there is no
value, or the value is null, the city is ignored.
POSTAL_CODE This column holds the postal code of an address. The data type has to be character like (internally
represented as string). If the column contains a value it will be used for geocoding. If there is no
value, or the value is null, the postal code is ignored.
DISTRICT This column holds the district name of an address. The data type has to be character like (inter
nally represented as string). If the column contains a value it will be used for geocoding. If there is
no value, or the value is null, the district is ignored.
STREET This column holds the primary portion of the street address, such as the components that make
up the name of the street such as the directional (North, East, and so on). The data type has to be
character like (internally represented as string). If the column contains a value it will be used for
geocoding. If there is no value, or the value is null, the street is ignored.
HOUSE_NUMBER This column holds the house number of an address. The house number may be either located in
this column, or combined with the street data in the STREET column. The data type has to be
character like (internally represented as string). If the column contains a value it will be used for
geocoding. If there is no value, or the value is null, the house number is ignored.
ADDRESS_LINE This column holds a several address parts in a single value such as the building name, floor num
ber, or unit number. Sometimes this data is located in the STREET column. The data type has to
be character like (internally represented as string). If the column contains a value it will be used
for geocoding; in case of no or null value the address line is ignored. The ADDRESS_LINE is re
quired as address data is not fully structured in most cases. In extreme cases, a single field stores
the entire address information.
GEOCODE The name of the generated point column that holds the geo-coded location. The data type of the
GEOCODE column is ST_POINT.
ASYNC: EVERY <n> Preprocessing and insertion into geocode index does not take place immediately upon insert-call,
MINUTES but rather every n minutes.
ASYNC: AFTER <m> Preprocessing and insertion into geocode index does not take place immediately upon insert-call,
ROWS but rather after m new rows have been inserted.

Appendix PUBLIC 197
5.2.2 Modify Index
Changing the criteria is only permitted for queue processing.
ALTER GEOCODE INDEX <name> ASYNC[HRONOUS] [FLUSH [QUEUE] [EVERY <n> MINUTES]
[[OR] AFTER <m> ROWS]]]
5.2.3 Drop Index
The SQL statement to drop a geocoding index is similar to the statement for the FULLTEXT index.
DROP GEOCODE INDEX <name>
5.2.4 Maintain the Queue
The SQL statements to maintain the geocoding queue are similar to the statements for the FULLTEXT index.
Stop queue processing:
ALTER GEOCODE INDEX <name> SUSPEND QUEUE
Continue processing of queue content:
ALTER GEOCODE INDEX <name> ACTIVATE QUEUE
Force processing of queue content:
ALTER GEOCODE INDEX <name> FLUSH QUEUE
Retry failed geocoding jobs:
CALL RETRY_DOCUMENT_INDEXING (<schema>,<name>,<error code>)
Note
Only error code 0 is allowed. If the <error code> is 0, any errors will be queued for retry.

198 PUBLIC Appendix
5.2.5 System Tables and Monitoring View
Information about geocoding activities is stored in system tables and a monitoring view.
System Table INDEXES
A geocode index is registered in the INDEXES table with type GEOCODE.
System Table INDEX_COLUMNS
Columns that are part of a geocode index are registered in the INDEX_COLUMNS table and are distinguished by
the constraint column.
Table 98:
Index part Constraint
COUNTRY GEOCODE COUNTRY
STATE GEOCODE STATE
CITY GEOCODE CITY
POSTAL_CODE GEOCODE POSTAL_CODE
DISTRICT GEOCODE DISTRICT
STREET GEOCODE STREET
HOUSE_NUMBER GEOCODE HOUSE_NUMBER
ADDRESS_LINE GEOCODE ADDRESS_LINE
GEOCODE GEOCODE
System Table GEOCODE_INDEXES
Detailed information about the geocode indexes in a system is registered in the GEOCODE_INDEXES table.
Table 99:
Columns name Data type Description
SCHEMA_NAME NVARCHAR(256) Schema name
TABLE_NAME NVARCHAR(256) Table name
TABLE_OID BIGINT Object ID of the table
INDEX_NAME NVARCHAR(256) Name of the geocode index
INDEX_OID BIGINT Object ID of the geocode index

Appendix PUBLIC 199
Columns name Data type Description
FLUSH_AFTER_ROWS INTEGER Used to store change-tracking behavior

of the geocode index
FLUSH_EVERY_MINUTES INTEGER Used to store change-tracking behavior

of the geocode index
Monitoring View M_INDEXING_QUEUES
View M_INDEXING_QUEUES lists queues of all types. Queues related to geocoding are registered with type
GEOCODE.
5.2.6 Using SAP HANA Geocode
Set SAP HANA spatial to use Geocode from SAP HANA smart data quality.
You can use the SAP HANA smart data quality geocode feature, rather than using a third party provider such
as TOMTOM or Nokia HERE. The SAP HANA smart data quality geocode is technology created at SAP and
offers high performance without the need for a web service. You may need a subscription to access the
directory reference data from SAP.
Download Directories
The accuracy of the point represented by the latitude and longitude coordinates generated by the Geocode
node is based on the completeness of the address being input and how well it matches to the geocode
reference data, which is purchased separately. You will need to download the latest directories from the SAP
Support Portal, and sign in with your S-User ID and password.
Note
You will also need to enable the script server to use the directories.
For information about downloading and deploying the directories, see "Smart Data Quality Directories" in the
SAP HANA Smart Data Integration and SAP HANA Smart Data Quality Administration Guide.
Map Input Columns
At a minimum, you will need to map STREET, LOCALITY, POSTAL_CODE and COUNTRY. The more columns
that you map, the more likely you will have an assignment. In fact, if Geocode is unable to find a house-level
assignment, then the output will be blank, even if Geocode was able to assign at the postcode or locality level.
Here is a list of the supported input columns in alphabetical order.

200 PUBLIC Appendix
● ADDRESS_LINE
● CITY
● COUNTRY
● DISTRICT
● HOUSE_NUMBER
● POSTAL_CODE
● STATE
Depending on the input data, we recommend mapping the input data in the following ways.
At a minimum map these columns.
Table 100:
Input data columns Mapped columns
STREET (if you have a single free-form address column) STREET
CITY LOCALITY
POSTCODE POSTAL_CODE
COUNTRY COUNTRY
If your data has the following columns, map them as shown here.
Note
Do not map these columns to COUNTY.
Table 101:
REGION REGION
SUBCITY DISTRICT
If your data has two free-form address columns, map them as shown here.
For example, if you have the data "Main St" in the Address1 column, and the data "100" in the Address2
column, you would map Address1 to Street because there are many addresses on Main Street; then map
Address2 to House_Number because it contains the most specific information. In another example, if you have
the data "100 Main St" in Address1 and the data "Suite 300" in the Address2 column, you would map Address1
to Street and Address2 to House_Number.
Table 102:
Address1 (the column with more broad information) STREET
Address2 (the column with the more specific information) HOUSE_NUMBER
If your data has three free-form address columns, map them from the broadest information to the most
specific, similar to the example above.

Appendix PUBLIC 201
Table 103:
ADDRESS1 (broad information) STREET
ADDRESS2 (more specific information) HOUSE_NUMBER
ADDRESS3 (most specific information) ADDRESS_LINE
Note
Geographic location points are assigned based on the street name and house number. Extra information
such as apartment or suite numbers, floor numbers or building names are not used, so those types of
discrete columns do not need to be mapped.
5.2.7 Geocode Provider
The geocoding function that is integrated in SAP HANA uses the XS engine.
A geocode provider is used to translate textual address data into geographic locations. Geocode providers are
supplied by delivery units and are written in JavaScript. To define the currently used provider, a configuration
parameter is introduced.
To use SAP HANA smart data quality geocode:
ALTER SYSTEM ALTER CONFIGURATION ('xsengine.ini','SYSTEM') set

('geocoding','provider') = 'local' WITH RECONFIGURE
The maximum rows to process default setting is 1000, and the processing timeout value is 60 seconds. If you
have multiple cores that you can use for processing, you can increase these values respectively with the
following code.
ALTER SYSTEM ALTER CONFIGURATION ('xsengine.ini','SYSTEM')

set('geocoding','max_rows_per_execution') = '100000' WITH RECONFIGURE
ALTER SYSTEM ALTER CONFIGURATION ('xsengine.ini','SYSTEM')

set('geocoding','execution_timeout') = '1000' WITH RECONFIGURE
See the topic "Configuring the Operation Cache" in the SAP HANA Smart Data Integration and SAP HANA
Smart Data Quality Administration Guide for details.
To use a third party geocode provider:
ALTER SYSTEM ALTER CONFIGURATION ('xsengine.ini','SYSTEM') set

('geocoding','provider') = '<content_path>' WITH RECONFIGURE

202 PUBLIC Appendix
Note
This parameter is not set by default in the case of newly imported and activated delivery units. It therefore
has to be set manually. In general, <content_path> refers to an xsjs script provided by the delivery unit,
for example sap/hana/spatial/geocoding/<NameOfTheProvider>/geocodeindex.xsjs.
5.2.8 User Defined Geocode Provider
A geocode provider can be created to use third-party data that can be used by SAP HANA, provided that a
number of conditions are met.
The basic structure of a geocode provider script has to contain the following JavaScript code:
function doGeocoding(input) { // [1]

var geocodes = [], errors = [];
for( var i = 0; i < input.entries.length; ++i ) {
// do the geocoding for entry at index i [2]
// if no error for entry at index i {
// geocodes.push( “A valid WKT POINT” ); // [3]
// } else {
// geocodes.push( null ) // [4]
// errors.push( 400 )
// }
}
return { “geocodes” : geocodes, “errors” : errors}; // [5]
}
[6]
The following conditions have to be met:
1. The name of the function is fixed and has to be doGeocoding . It takes exactly one input argument. If the
input object is valid, it contains a single array attribute, named <entries>.
2. The <input.entries> array contains a sequence of addresses that should be processed. The number of
entries that have to be processed can vary per call. Each entry object has the same attributes as (and no
more than) the column names that have been provided during the create geocode index statement.
Possible attributes are: <address_line> , <city> , <country> , <county> , <district> ,
<house_number> , <postal_code> , <state> and <street> . For instance:
<input.entries[i].house_number>.
3. Addresses that could be successfully geocoded have to be inserted in the <geocodes> array in the same
order as they are extracted from the <input.entries> array. The type has to be a valid string WKT
representation of point geometry.
4. If an address cannot be geocoded, or a different error occurs that is only related to this single entry, this
can only be represented as an empty string or null in the <geocodes> array. The <errors> array must be
filled with a meaningful error code for this case. Filling the <errors> array for valid geocodes is prohibited
and will cause an error. Only integers are allowed as error codes. Tracing calls are still possible and can be
used to give more details about the current state.
5. The return object has to have two attributes. The array called <geocodes> and the array called
<errors>. Other attributes are ignored. If a general error occurs during execution, returning null is a valid
option.

Appendix PUBLIC 203
6. The whole script is interpreted before the doGeocoding function is called. If other instructions are
present, make sure that they do not interfere with the geocoding task. Querying the database is disabled,
and will result in a privileges error exception.
Note
Beside the xsjs-script with the doGeocoding function, there has to be at least one empty “.xsapp” file in the
same folder, otherwise the script is unknown to the system.
5.2.9 Geocoding Errors and Messages
Geocoding errors and messages are handled as follows:
● If an address cannot be geocoded for any reason, this will be represented by the POINT EMPTY entity that
is written into the geocode column for the failed row. This row will not be processed again until an address
column in the geocode index is modified, the geocode column is updated to null, or the
RETRY_DOCUMENT_INDEXING procedure is called.
● In case of any other errors related to the geocode provider or the queue processing of geocode indices,
trace errors will be written, indicating the possible root cause. This can be recognized by the keyword
geocoding available for the index server as well as the XS engine.
5.3 Additional Services for SAP HANA Spatial
Customers who have licensed SAP HANA (SAP HANA PLATFORM EDITION, SAP HANA ENTERPRISE
EDITION, SAP HANA BASE EDITION with the SAP HANA SPATIAL OPTION, or derived licenses thereof) can
use the voluntary map content and base map services (spatial map client, geo-content, spatial content viewer)
provided by Nokia/HERE. These additional services and content are voluntarily provided by SAP and can be
withdrawn, postponed, or suspended at any time. Customers who have licensed SAP HANA (SAP HANA
PLATFORM EDITION, SAP HANA ENTERPRISE EDITION, SAP HANA BASE EDITION with the SAP HANA
SPATIAL OPTION, or derived licenses thereof) can use this voluntary map content and base map services at
no additional fee or license cost. Use of SAP HANA Spatial Engine is also governed by the Software Use Rights
Agreement (Browse SAP agreements -> See agreements (your region) -> Access documents (Software
Use Rights Agreements)). For more information about SAP HANA Spatial, see SAP Note 2091935 - SAP HANA
Spatial .
The following additional services for SAP HANA Spatial are provided on SAP Support Portal:
● Spatial map client, content viewer and geo-content

● Geospatial Metadata Installer
Related Information
SAP Note 1928222 - SAP HANA Spatial Delivery Units

204 PUBLIC Appendix
5.3.1 Spatial Map Client, Content Viewer and Geo-Content
The following additional services for SAP HANA Spatial are provided on SAP Support Portal:
● Spatial map client

The spatial map client provides an interface to use HERE maps.
● Spatial content viewer
The spatial content viewer is a simple web application that allows you to view geo-content in the
predefined geo models (database schemas) called SAP_SPATIAL and SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL. You need
this to view the geo-content on HERE maps. To use the spatial content viewer, you need the spatial map
client.
● Geo-Content
The geo-content provides generalized administration boundaries (GAB) and postal codes (POC). The geo-
content for GAB is provided in CSV files, whereas the geo-content for POC is provided in shapefiles.
Note
Some countries (for example China) do not allow use of all administration hierarchies. For these
countries, only a subset of the geo-content is provided.
5.3.1.1 Download Files from SAP Support Portal
In the SAP Software Download Center, you can access content for the additional services for SAP HANA
Spatial.
1. Call a Web browser.

2. Open the SAP Software Download Center.
3. Choose Software Downloads.

Appendix PUBLIC 205
4. Search for and download the following objects:
○ "Map Client"
Download the HCOSPATIALMAPC00_0-<nnn>.ZIP file and unpack it. Put the HCOSPATIALMAPC.tgz
file on your client so that you can import it using the SAP HANA studio.
○ "Content Viewer"
Download the HCOSPATIALCV00_0-<nnn>.ZIP file and unpack it. Put the HCOSPATIALCV.tgz file
on your client so that you can import it using the SAP HANA studio.
○ "GAB" (Generalized Administration Boundaries)
Download the .SAR files that you need and unpack them. Put the CSV files on the SAP HANA host,
where you can import them into the SAP HANA database.
○ "POC" (Postal Codes)
Download the .SAR files that you need and unpack them. Put the shapefiles on the SAP HANA host,
where you can import them into the SAP HANA database.
In addition to the unpacked shapefiles for POC, you will also find product guides and release notes for
the unpacked shapefiles.
Related Information
SAP Software Download Center

206 PUBLIC Appendix
5.3.1.2 Import the Map Client and the Spatial Content
Viewer
Import the delivery units containing the map client and the content viewer.
1. Open the SAP HANA studio.

2. Choose File Import .
3. Choose SAP HANA Content Delivery Unit .
4. Select Client .
5. Import the delivery units:
○ Browse for file HCOSPATIALMAPC.tgz, select it and choose Finish.
○ Browse for file HCOSPATIALCV.tgz, select it and choose Finish.
For more information, see Deploy a Delivery Unit Archive (*.tgz) in the SAP HANA Master Guide.
Note
If you are using the hdbalm command to import the map client and the content viewer, you might
encounter problems with the versions of the archives. An update might be rejected because hdbalm
recognizes an older version in the archives you want to import. In this case you can enforce the update by
using the hdbalm option ALLOW_DU_DOWNGRADE. The reason for this behavior is a change in the structuring
of the version numbers.
See also the attachment to SAP Note 2165826 - SAP HANA Platform SPS 10 Release Note.
Related Information
SAP HANA Master Guide

SAP Note 2165826 - SAP HANA Platform SPS 10 Release Note

Appendix PUBLIC 207
5.3.1.3 Create Database Schemas and Tables
For the Generalized Administration Boundaries (GAB) and the Postal Codes (POC), you need to create
different database schemas and tables.
5.3.1.3.1 Create Database Schema and Table (GAB)
The database schema for GAB is SAP_SPATIAL.
Note
The database schema can also be created by the content viewer. For more information, see Use Content
Viewer (GAB).
The database schema contains the following tables:
● AREA
● AREA_DESCRIPTION
● HIERARCHY
● HIERARCHY_DESCRIPTION
● SHAPE
● SHAPE_DISPLAY
1. Call the SAP HANA studio.

3. Create the database schema and the tables with the following SQL commands:
create schema SAP_SPATIAL;

create column table SAP_SPATIAL.AREA (
area_id bigint,
spatial_hierarchy_id VARCHAR(15),
package VARCHAR(3),
name NVARCHAR(256),
level TINYINT,
parent_area_id bigint,
PRIMARY KEY(area_id, spatial_hierarchy_id)
);
create column table SAP_SPATIAL.AREA_DESCRIPTION (
area_id bigint,
langu VARCHAR(3),
description NVARCHAR(256),
PRIMARY KEY(area_id, langu)
);
create column table SAP_SPATIAL.HIERARCHY (
name NVARCHAR(256),
PRIMARY KEY(spatial_hierarchy_id)
);
create column table SAP_SPATIAL.HIERARCHY_DESCRIPTION (
langu VARCHAR(3),
description NVARCHAR(256),
PRIMARY KEY(spatial_hierarchy_id, langu)
);
create column table SAP_SPATIAL.SHAPE (

208 PUBLIC Appendix
area_id bigint,
detail_level tinyint,
external_id VARCHAR(20),
shape ST_GEOMETRY(1000004326),
PRIMARY KEY(area_id, detail_level)
);
create column table SAP_SPATIAL.SHAPE_DISPLAY (
use_case_id VARCHAR(15),
zoom_level tinyint,
area_id bigint,
display_detail_level tinyint,
PRIMARY KEY(use_case_id, zoom_level, area_id)
);
Note
The field LEVEL in the table SAP_SPATIAL.AREA has the same meaning in every country, but not every
country has entries on every level:
● 1 - country
● 2 - state
● 3 - county
● 4 - city
● 5 - district
Related Information
Use the Content Viewer (GAB) [page 213]
5.3.1.3.2 Create Database Schema and Table (POC)
The database schema for POC is SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL.
The database schema contains the GENERALIZED table.

3. Create the database schema and the table with the following SQL commands:
CREATE SCHEMA SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL;

CREATE COLUMN TABLE "SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL"."GENERALIZED" (
"POSTCODE" VARCHAR(10),
"ISO_CTRY" VARCHAR(3),
"ADMIN1" VARCHAR(80),
"AREA" DOUBLE CS_DOUBLE,
"SHAPE" ST_GEOMETRY(0) CS_GEOMETRY) UNLOAD PRIORITY 5 AUTO MERGE;

Appendix PUBLIC 209
Note
Some of the shapefiles contain the AREA column, while others do not. This difference has to be taken into
account during the import into the SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL.GENERALIZED table.
5.3.1.4 Import Geo-Content
Two different import methods are used depending on whether the geo-content is for Generalized
Administration Boundaries (GAB) or for Postal Codes (POC).
5.3.1.4.1 Import Geo-Content (GAB)
The geo-content for Generalized Administration Boundaries (GAB) needs to be imported into the database
tables.
The geo-content for GAB is contained in CSV files. To import the CSV files for GAB, perform the following
steps:
1. Put the CSV files on the host.

2. Perform IMPORT commands like this:
IMPORT FROM CSV FILE '<path and filename>' INTO SAP_SPATIAL.<TABLE>

WITH THREADS 10
RECORD DELIMITED BY '\n'
FIELD DELIMITED BY ';'
OPTIONALLY ENCLOSED BY '\"'
ERROR LOG '<filepath and filename>';
Perform the import for all tables belonging to database schema SAP_SPATIAL and for all geo-content that
you want to import. This is an example of importing for the table SAP_SPATIAL.AREA for EUROPE:
IMPORT FROM CSV FILE '/usr/sap/ABC/HDB50/work/GAB/EU_Q214/AREA.csv' INTO

SAP_SPATIAL.AREA
WITH THREADS 10
RECORD DELIMITED BY '\n'
FIELD DELIMITED BY ';'
OPTIONALLY ENCLOSED
BY '\"'
ERROR LOG '/usr/sap/ABC/HDB50/work/GAB/EU_Q214/AREA.err';
Caution
Choose the number of threads in accordance with your hardware.
Note
By default, the files have to be in the work folder of the SAP HANA system: /usr/sap/<SID>/
HDB<instance_number>/work/. If configuration parameter enable_csv_import_path_filter

210 PUBLIC Appendix
(indexserver.ini, nameserver.ini) is set to false, the files can be located anywhere on the SAP HANA
host.
5.3.1.4.2 Import Geo-Content (POC)
The geo-content for Postal Codes (POC) needs to be imported into the database table.
The geo-content for POC is contained in various kinds of shapefiles. Check the geo-content and choose the
shapefiles you need. The following shapefiles are offered for Japan for example:
● JPN_2012Q1_PCB_PLY_GEN
● JPN_2012Q1_PCB_PLY_UNGEN
● JPN_2012Q1_PCB_PTS
Note
In addition to the unpacked shapefiles for POC, you will also find product guides and release notes for the
unpacked shapefiles.
The following section describes how to import the shapefiles with the generalized content:
<country>_<year><quarter>_PCB_PLY_GEN (for example BEL_2013Q1_PCB_PLY_GEN). The import is
performed in the same way for the other types of shapefiles.
To import the shapefiles for POC, perform the following steps:
1. Put the shapefiles on the host.

2. Perform this step for all shapefiles you need.
Perform IMPORT commands like this:
IMPORT "SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL"."<country>_GEN" AS SHAPEFILE FROM '<path and

filename>';
This is an example for importing shapefile BEL_2013Q1_PCB_PLY_GEN:
IMPORT "SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL"."BEL_GEN" AS SHAPEFILE FROM

'/usr/sap/ABC/HDB50/work/POC/BEL_2013Q1_PCB/shp/BEL_2013Q1_PCB_PLY_GEN';
Note
By default, the files have to be in the work folder of the SAP HANA system: /usr/sap/<SID>/
HDB<instance_number>/work/. If configuration parameter enable_csv_import_path_filter
(indexserver.ini, nameserver.ini) is set to false, the files can be located anywhere on the SAP HANA
host.
3. Insert the data from the tables you just imported into table SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL.GENERALIZED.
This is an example for inserting two tables that do not have the AREA column:
insert into "SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL"."GENERALIZED" (postcode, iso_ctry, admin1,

admin2, admin3, admin4, admin5, shape) (
select postcode, iso_ctry, admin1, admin2, admin3, admin4, admin5, shape
from "SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL"."BEL_GEN"
union all

Appendix PUBLIC 211
select postcode, iso_ctry, admin1, admin2, admin3, admin4, admin5, shape
from "SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL"."NDL_GEN"
);
For tables that have the AREA column, the insert statement is:
insert into "SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL"."GENERALIZED" (postcode, iso_ctry, admin1,

admin2, admin3, admin4, admin5, area, shape) (
select postcode, iso_ctry, admin1, admin2, admin3, admin4, admin5, area,
shape from "SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL"."CAN_GEN"
);
5.3.1.5 Create a User to View Geo-Content
To view the geo-content, you need a dedicated database user.

2. In the Systems view, log on to the SAP HANA system.
3. In the Systems view, open the context menu for Security Users .
4. Choose New User and make the required entries.
5. Grant the user Object Privileges for the following database schemas:
○ SAP_SPATIAL
○ SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL
6. Choose Deploy to save the user.
5.3.1.6 Assign the User for the Content Viewer
Assign the user that you created to view the geo-content.
1. Open a Web browser.

2. Start the SAP HANA XS Administration Tool.
The SAP HANA XS Administration Tool is available on the SAP HANA XS Web server at the following URL:
http://<host>:80<instance_number>/sap/hana/xs/admin/ (for example http://myhost:
8050/sap/hana/xs/admin/).
Note
You need XS Admin rights to assign the user.
3. Choose XS Administration Tools .

4. Choose XS Artifact Administration .
5. Choose Application Objects Packages sap hana spatial contentViewer .
6. Select query.xssqlcc .
7. Choose Edit .
8. Enter user name and password of the user that you created to view the geo-content.
9. Choose Save .

212 PUBLIC Appendix
Related Information
Create a User to View Geo-Content [page 212]
5.3.1.7 Use the Spatial Content Viewer
Different content viewers are provided for the Generalized Administration Boundaries (GAB) and for the Postal
Codes (POC).
5.3.1.7.1 Use the Content Viewer (GAB)
Use the content viewer to view GAB geo content.
Note
If you have not created the database schema SAP_SPATIAL and imported the data yet, the viewer displays
the message "SAP_SPATIAL not found. Please create it now!". If you choose "now", the content viewer
creates the database schema and the tables. You then have to import the data, as described in Import Geo-
Content (GAB). The object privileges are automatically granted to the user you have created to view the geo
content.

2. Start the Geo Content Viewer.
The Geo Content viewer tool is available on the SAP HANA XS Web server at the following URL: http://
<host>:80<instance_number>/sap/hana/spatial/contentViewer/index.html, (for example
http://myhost:8050/sap/hana/spatial/contentViewer/index.html).
3. Choose Geo Content Viewer .
You can make the following selections:
○ Country
○ Level
○ Area Name
○ Detail Level
○ Zoom Level
○ Jump to polygon (checked/not checked)
○ Clear map (checked/not checked)
Note
If no database schema SAP_SPATIAL has been created, or if the database tables do not contain any
data, the viewer displays an error message.
4. Choose Submit to perform your selection.

Appendix PUBLIC 213
5.3.1.7.2 Use the Content Viewer (POC)
Use the content viewer to view GAB geo-content.

2. Start the Content Viewer.
The Content Viewer tool is available on the SAP HANA XS Web server at the following URL: http://
<host>:80<instance_number>/sap/hana/spatial/contentViewer/index.html, (for example
http://myhost:8050/sap/hana/spatial/contentViewer/index.html).
3. Choose Postal Content Viewer .
You can make the following selections:
○ Country
○ Level
○ Area Name
○ Zoom Level
○ Jump to polygon (checked/not checked)
○ Clear map (checked/not checked)
Note
If no database schema SAP_SPATIAL_POSTAL has been created, or if the database table does not
contain any data, the viewer displays an error message.
4. Choose Submit to perform your selection.
5.3.2 Geospatial Metadata Installer
You can use the Geospatial Metadata Installer to install standard EPSG spatial reference system (SRS) and
unit of measure (UOM) definitions.
5.3.2.1 Download File from SAP Support Portal
In the SAP Software Download Center, you can access content for the additional services for SAP HANA
Spatial.
1. Call a Web browser.

2. Open the SAP Software Download Center.
3. Choose Software Downloads.

214 PUBLIC Appendix
4. Search for and download the following objects:
○ "SPATIAL METADATA"
Download the HCOSPATIALMI00_0-<nnn>.ZIP file and unpack it. Put the HCOSPATIALMI.tgz file
on your client so that you can import it using the SAP HANA studio.
Related Information
SAP Software Download Center
5.3.2.2 Import the Geospatial Metadata Installer
Import the delivery unit.
1. Open the SAP HANA studio.

2. Choose File Import .
3. Choose SAP HANA Content Delivery Unit .
4. Select Client .
5. Import the delivery units:
○ Browse for file HCOSPATIALMI.tgz, select it and choose Finish.

Appendix PUBLIC 215
5.3.2.3 Create Database Users
Create database users to use the Geospatial Metadata Installer.

2. In the Systems view, log on to the SAP HANA system.
3. In the Systems view, open the context menu for Security Users .
4. Choose New User and make the required entries.
Create the following users:
○ One user (for example RESTRICTED_USER) to use the Geospatial Metadata Installer
○ One user (for example CONNECTOR) to establish the required SQLCC connection and modify the
defined database object
5. Grant the users the following privileges:
○ RESTRICTED_USER
○ APPLICATION PRIVILEGE: "sap.hana.spatial.metadataInstaller::Execute"
○ CONNECTOR
○ SYSTEM PRIVILEGE: CATALOG READ
○ OBJECT PRIVILEGE: ST_SPATIAL_REFERENCE_SYSTEMS (DB object type "view") with privilege
"SELECT"
○ OBJECT PRIVILEGE: ST_UNITS_OF_MEASURE (DB object type "view") with privilege "SELECT"
○ OBJECT PRIVILEGE: ST_GEOMETRY_COLUMNS (DB object type "view") with privilege "SELECT"
○ OBJECT PRIVILEGE: METADATAINSTALLER (DB object type "schema") with all privileges
6. Choose Deploy for each user (RESTRICTED_USER and CONNECTOR) in order to save the user.
5.3.2.4 Assign User for the Geospatial Metadata Installer
Assign the user to view the Geospatial Metadata Installer.
1. Open a web browser.

2. Start the SAP HANA XS Administration Tool.
The SAP HANA XS Administration Tool is available on the SAP HANA XS Web server at the following URL:
http://<host>:80<instance_number>/sap/hana/xs/admin/ (for example http://myhost:
8050/sap/hana/xs/admin/).
Note
You need XS Admin rights to assign the user.
3. Choose XS Administration Tools .

4. Choose XS Artifact Administration .
5. Choose Application Objects Packages sap hana spatial metadataInstaller xsjs .
6. Select query.xssqlcc .
7. Choose Edit .
8. Enter the user name and password of the user (for example CONNECTOR) that you created to establish
the SQLCC connection.

216 PUBLIC Appendix
9. Choose Save .
5.3.2.5 Use the Geospatial Metadata Installer
Use the Geospatial Metadata Installer.
1. Open a web browser.

2. Start the Geospatial Metadata Installer.
The Geospatial Metadata Installer tool is available on the SAP HANA XS Web server at the following URL:
http://<host>:80<instance_number>/sap/hana/spatial/metadataInstaller/index.html,
(for example http://myhost:8050/sap/hana/spatial/metadataInstaller/index.html).
3. Enter the user credentials (for example RESTRICTED_USER) to log on to the Geospatial Metadata
Installer .
4. You can use the following functions:
○ View Current State of Spatial Metadata
This function shows the following information:
○ How many Spatial Reference Systems (SRS) and Spatial Units of Measure (UOM) currently are
stored in the database.
○ How many and which SRS and UOM currently are active, i.e. in use in the database. These cannot
be updated.
○ How often these SRS and UOM are used at present.
○ Start Update Immediately
This function installs standard EPSG Spatial reference system (SRS) and unit of measure (UOM)
definitions in your SAP HANA system.

Appendix PUBLIC 217
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What are spatial reference systems and identifiers?

What are spatial reference systems and identifiers?

What spatial data types and formats are supported?

What spatial data types and formats are supported?

PUBLIC

SAP HANA Platform 2.0 SPS 00

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

3 Accessing and Manipulating Spatial Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

4 Spatial Clustering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

SAP HANA spatial is an SAP HANA optional component.

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

SELECT NEW ST_Polygon('Polygon((0 0, 0 1, 1 1, 1 0, 0 0 ))').ST_Contains( NEW

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

NEW ST_Point( <longitude> , <latitude> )

2.1 Spatial Reference Systems (SRS) and Spatial

Spatial reference system information is stored in the ST_SPATIAL_REFERENCE_SYSTEMS system view.

Cartesian is a planar type of spatial reference system.

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

sa_planar_unbounded For internal use only.

2.2 Units of Measure

radian An angular unit of measure. SI standard unit. Defined by ISO 1000:1992.

degree An angular unit of measure (pi()/180.0 radians).

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

Unit of measure information is stored in the ST_UNITS_OF_MEASURE system view.

2.3 Support for Spatial Data

2.3.1 Supported Spatial Data Types and Their Hierarchy

Descriptions of supported spatial data types

The following spatial data types are supported:

ST_Dimension returns 0 for non-empty points.

Multipoints A multipoint is a collection of individual points.

In GIS data, multipoints are typically used to represent a set of locations.

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

Multilinestrings A multilinestring is a collection of linestrings.

ST_Dimension returns 2 for non-empty polygons.

Multipolygons A multipolygon is a collection of zero or more polygons.

Spatial type hierarchy

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

2.3.1.1 Supported Spatial Predicates

SELECT * FROM SpatialShapes WHERE shape.ST_IsEmpty() = 0;

SpatialShapes Table [page 32]

2.3.1.1.1 Intuitiveness of Spatial Predicates

Sometimes the outcome of a predicate is not intuitive.

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

2.3.2 Supported Import and Export Formats for Spatial Data

Here is an example of how a point might be represented in WKT:

Here is an example of how a point might be represented in WKB:

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

Here is an example of how a point might be represented in EWKB:

GeoJSON is a subset of the JSON standard and is used to encode geo­

Here is an example of how a point might be represented in GeoJSON:

{"x" : 1, "y" : 1, "spatialReference" :

For more information about the GeoJSON specification, see http://

Here is an example of how a point might be represented in SVG:

SAP HANA Spatial Reference

GeoJSON is a subset of the JSON standard and is used to encode geo