PostGIS

Release

PostGIS User’s Guide

Jul 14, 2020

 Contents

1 Installing PostGIS 2
1.1 Installing PostGIS on a CentOS/RHEL Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Installing PostGIS on a Debian/Ubuntu Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Installing PostGIS on a Windows Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4 Installing PostGIS on an SLES 12 Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2 Creating Extensions 12

3 Upgrading PostGIS 14

4 Using PostGIS 15

5 Uninstalling PostGIS 17
5.1 Uninstalling PostGIS on a CentOS/RHEL Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.2 Uninstalling PostGIS on a Debian/Ubuntu Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5.3 Uninstalling PostGIS on a Windows Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5.4 Uninstalling PostGIS on an SLES Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

6 Conclusion 21

Index 22

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PostGIS is a PostgreSQL extension that allows you to store Geographic Information Systems (GIS) objects in an
Advanced Server database. PostGIS includes functions for analyzing and processing GIS objects, and support for
GiST-based R-Tree spatial indexes.
The complete documentation for PostGIS is added to your system during the installation, and is available online at the
PostGIS project site.

Contents 1
 CHAPTER 1

Installing PostGIS

The following table lists the latest PostGIS versions and their corresponding Advanced Server versions. The PostGIS
version required by your Advanced Server installation is version-specific, but the documented and supported function-
ality of each version is the same. The information in this guide applies to each version listed in the table below.

PostGIS Version Supported Advanced Supported Platforms

Server Versions
PostGIS 3.0.1 Advanced Server 12 RHEL 6, RHEL 7, and RHEL 8 - x86_64, RHEL 7
- ppc64le, Debian 9x Stretch, Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic
Beaver, Windows 64 x86 Interactive Installer
PostGIS 2.5.4 Advanced Server 11 and 12 RHEL 6, RHEL 7, and RHEL 8 - x86_64, RHEL 7
- ppc64le, Debian 9x Stretch, Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic
Beaver, Windows 64 x86 Interactive Installer, SLES 12
PostGIS 2.5.3 Advanced Server 12 RHEL 6, RHEL 7, and RHEL 8 - x86_64, RHEL 7
- ppc64le, Debian 9x Stretch, Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic
Beaver, Windows 64 x86 Interactive Installer
PostGIS 2.5.1 Advanced Server 11 RHEL 6 and RHEL 7 - x86_64, RHEL 7 - ppc64le
PostGIS 2.4.6 Advanced Server 9.6, 10 and 11
RHEL 6 and RHEL 7 - x86_64, RHEL 7 - ppc64le,
Windows 64 x86 Interactive Installer

PostGIS 2.3.8 Advanced Server 9.6 and 10 RHEL 6 and RHEL 7 - x86_64, RHEL 7 - ppc64le,
Windows 64 x86 Interactive Installer
PostGIS 2.1.9 Advanced Server 9.5 RHEL 6 and RHEL 7 - x86_64, RHEL 7 - ppc64le,
Windows 64 x86 Interactive Installer

1.1 Installing PostGIS on a CentOS/RHEL Host

You must install Advanced Server before installing PostGIS. For details about installing and configuring Advanced
Server, see the EDB Postgres Advanced Server Installation Guide available at the EDB website.

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The following steps provide detailed information about adding a repository configuration file to your system and
installing PostGIS from an RPM package.
Before creating the repository configuration file, you must have credentials that allow access to the EnterpriseDB
repository. For information about requesting credentials, click this link.
1. Use the following command to create the repository configuration file:
On CentOS/RHEL 6 and 7:

yum -y install https://yum.enterprisedb.com/edb-repo-rpms/edb-repo-latest.

noarch.rpm

On CentOS/RHEL 8:

dnf -y install https://yum.enterprisedb.com/edb-repo-rpms/edb-repo-latest.

noarch.rpm

The repository configuration file is named edb.repo, which resides in /etc/yum.repos.d.

2. Use your choice of editor to open the file. Ensure that the value of the enabled parameter is 1 and the
<username> and <password> placeholders in the baseurl specification are replaced with the username
and password of a registered EnterpriseDB user.

[edb]
name=EnterpriseDB RPMs $releasever - $basearch
baseurl=https://<username>:<password>@yum.enterprisedb.com/edb/redhat/rhel-
$releasever-$basearch
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/ENTERPRISEDB-GPG-KEY

3. Save the configuration file and exit the editor.

4. Before installing PostGIS on a CentOS/RHEL 8 machine, you need to enable the PowerTools repo with the
following command:

dnf config-manager --set-enabled PowerTools

5. Install PostGIS with one of the following platform-specific command:

On CentOS/RHEL 6 and 7:

yum install edb-as<xx>-postgis-<y.y.y>

Where <xx> is the Advanced Server version and <y.y.y> is the PostGIS version you want to install. For example, to
install PostGIS 3.0.1 on Advanced Server 12, execute the following command:

yum install edb-as12-postgis-3.0.1

On CentOS/RHEL 8:

dnf install edb-as<xx>-postgis-<y.y.y>

Where <xx> is the Advanced Server version and <y.y.y> is the PostGIS version you want to install. For example, to
install PostGIS 3.0.1 on Advanced Server 12, execute the following command:

dnf install edb-as12-postgis-3.0.1

1.1. Installing PostGIS on a CentOS/RHEL Host 3

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When you install an RPM package that is signed by a source that is not recognized by your system, yum may ask for
your permission to import the key to your local server. If prompted, and you are satisfied that the packages come from
a trustworthy source, enter y and press Return to continue.
After installing PostGIS with a package manager, please note that you must manually create a template database and
the required PostGIS extension.

1.1. Installing PostGIS on a CentOS/RHEL Host 4

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1.2 Installing PostGIS on a Debian/Ubuntu Host

You must install Advanced Server before installing PostGIS. For details about installing and configuring Advanced
Server, see the EDB Postgres Advanced Server Installation Guide available at the EDB website.
To install a package on a Debian or Ubuntu host, you must have credentials to access the EnterpriseDB repository. If
you need EnterpriseDB credentials, click this link to request for credentials.
The following steps will walk you through using the EnterpriseDB repository to install a DEB package. When using
the commands, replace the username and password with the credentials provided by EnterpriseDB.

Note: If you are using the pdf version of this document, using cut/paste to copy command may result in extra spaces
or carriage returns in the pasted command. If a command fails, check the command carefully for additional characters.

1. Assume superuser privileges:

sudo su -

2. Configure the EnterpriseDB repository:

sh -c 'echo "deb https://<username>:<password>@apt.enterprisedb.com/$(lsb_

release -cs)-edb $(lsb_release -cs) main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/edb-
$(lsb_release -cs).list'

3. Add support to your system for secure APT repositories:

apt-get install apt-transport-https

4. Add the EDB signing key:

wget -q -O - https://<username>:<password>@apt.enterprisedb.com/edb-deb.
gpg.key | apt-key add -

5. Update the repository metadata:

apt-get update

6. Install DEB package:

apt-get install edb-as<xx>-postgis-<y.y>

Where <xx> is the Advanced Server version and <y.y> is the PostGIS version you want to install.
For example, to install the PostGIS 3.0.1 package for Advanced Server 12, execute the following
command:

apt-get install edb-as12-postgis-3.0

1.2. Installing PostGIS on a Debian/Ubuntu Host 5

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1.3 Installing PostGIS on a Windows Host

You must install Advanced Server before installing PostGIS. If you have used the graphical Setup wizard to install
Advanced Server, you can use StackBuilder Plus to add PostGIS to your installation. For details about using the
graphical installer to install and configure Advanced Server, see the EDB Postgres Advanced Server Installation Guide
for Windows available at the EDB website.
1. Open StackBuilder Plus and select your Advanced Server installation from the drop-down list on the Welcome
window. Click Next to continue to the application selection page.

Fig. 1.1: The StackBuilder Plus Welcome window

2. Expand the Spatial Extensions node, and check the box next to the PostGIS version. Click Next to
continue.
3. The selected packages and the default download directory where the package will be installed are displayed;
change the locations if required. Click Next.
4. Once you have downloaded the installation files, a confirmation message is displayed. Click Next to start the
PostGIS installation.

1.3. Installing PostGIS on a Windows Host 6

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Fig. 1.2: installing_postgis.png

5. Select an installation language and click OK.

Fig. 1.3: The language selection window

6. The PostGIS welcome screen is displayed. Click Next.

1.3. Installing PostGIS on a Windows Host 7

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Fig. 1.4: The Postgis welcome window

7. Use the Installation Directory field to specify the directory in which you wish to install the PostGIS
software. Click Next to continue.

Fig. 1.5: The Installation Directory window

8. Use fields on the EDB Postgres Advanced Server Installation Details window to provide
connection information for the Advanced Server host:

1.3. Installing PostGIS on a Windows Host 8

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• Use the Host field to identify the system on which Advanced Server resides.
• Provide the name of the role that PostGIS will use for connections to the server in the User Name field.
• Provide the password associated with the role in the Password field.
• Use the Port field to identify the listener port that Advanced Server monitors for client connections.
Then, click Next to continue.

Fig. 1.6: The Advanced Server installation details window

9. The Ready to Install window notifies you when the installer has all of the information needed to install
PostGIS on your system. Click Next.

1.3. Installing PostGIS on a Windows Host 9

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Fig. 1.7: The ready to install window

10. Progress bars inform you as the installation progresses; click Finish to exit the installer when the PostGIS
installation completes.

Fig. 1.8: The installation is complete

StackBuilder Plus will install PostGIS, and create the template_postgis database and PostGIS functions.

1.3. Installing PostGIS on a Windows Host 10

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1.4 Installing PostGIS on an SLES 12 Host

You can use the zypper package manager to install PostGIS on an SLES 12 host. zypper will attempt to satisfy package
dependencies as it installs a package, but requires access to specific repositories that are not hosted at EDB.
1. Assume superuser privileges.

sudo su -

2. Use the following command to add the EDB repository to your SLES host:

zypper addrepo https://zypp.enterprisedb.com/suse/edb-sles.repo

3. Use the following command to refresh the metadata on your SLES host to include the EDB repository:

zypper refresh

Ensure you have credentials that allow access to the EDB repository. For information about requesting credentials,
click this link.
4. Then, use the zypper utility to install PostGIS:

zypper install edb-as<xx>-postgis-<y.y.y>

Where <xx> is the Advanced Server version and <y.y.y> is the PostGIS version you want to install. Currently, PostGIS
version 2.5.4 is supported on an SLES 12 host.

1.4. Installing PostGIS on an SLES 12 Host 11

 CHAPTER 2

Creating Extensions

After installing PostGIS, create a PostGIS database and the extensions in each database you wish to use PostGIS
extensions. You must not create the extensions in the postgres or edb database.
1. Before creating the postgis database, we recommend creating a superuser to administer the database. To
create the user, navigate into the bin directory under your Advanced Server installation and connect to the server
with the psql client:

./psql -d edb -U enterprisedb -h 127.0.0.1

2. Then, to create a privileged role, invoke the following command:

CREATE ROLE gisadmin LOGIN PASSWORD 'password' SUPERUSER;

3. Log out of psql, then connect as gisadmin:

edb=# \q
./psql -d edb -U gisadmin -h 127.0.0.1

4. Use the following commands to create the postgis database owned by gisadmin:

CREATE DATABASE postgis;

5. Use the \c command to switch to the postgis database, and use the CREATE EXTENSION command to
create the PostGIS Extensions:

\c postgis
CREATE EXTENSION postgis;
CREATE EXTENSION postgis_topology;
CREATE EXTENSION fuzzystrmatch;
CREATE EXTENSION address_standardizer;
CREATE EXTENSION address_standardizer_data_us;
CREATE EXTENSION postgis_tiger_geocoder;
CREATE EXTENSION postgis_sfcgal;
CREATE EXTENSION postgis_raster;

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When connected with pgAdmin, you should now see PostGIS extensions, functions, tables, and trigger functions
beneath the postgis database public schema. The postgis database is now geospatially enabled and can be used
as a template to create new Geospatial databases.

Fig. 2.1: Extensions on PgAdmin

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 CHAPTER 3

Upgrading PostGIS

This section outlines the process of upgrading PostGIS.

To upgrade between major versions, for example, to upgrade from 2.5.4 to 3.0.1, perform the following steps:
1. Install PostGIS 3.0.1.
2. To update extensions, connect to the database (where you have already added extensions) with the psql client
application, and execute the following commands:

edb=# alter extension postgis update TO “3.0.1”;

WARNING: unpackaging raster
WARNING: PostGIS Raster functionality has been unpackaged
HINT: type `SELECT postgis_extensions_upgrade(); to finish the upgrade. After
upgrading, if you want to drop raster, run: DROP EXTENSION postgis_raster;
ALTER EXTENSION
edb=# SELECT postgis_extensions_upgrade();
NOTICE: Packaging extension postgis_raster
NOTICE: Updating extension postgis_topology from 2.5.4 to 3.0.1
NOTICE: Updating extension postgis_tiger_geocoder from 2.5.4 to 3.0.1
postgis_extensions_upgrade
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Upgrade completed, run SELECT postgis_full_version(); for details
(1 row)

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 CHAPTER 4

Using PostGIS

The following examples use PostGIS functions to create and query spatial objects. For more information about the
PostGIS functions, please consult the official PostGIS documentation.
The following command creates a table named roads table that will hold GIS data and a geometry column.
CREATE TABLE roads ( ID int4, NAME varchar(128) );

Then, use the PostGIS AddGeometryColumn function to add a column to the table:
SELECT AddGeometryColumn( 'roads', 'geom', -1, 'GEOMETRY', 2 );

Use the following SQL commands to insert data into the table roads. This data consists of the geometry of the type
of Linestring (a line between 2 points):
INSERT INTO ROADS (ID,GEOM,NAME ) VALUES (1,ST_GeomFromText('LINESTRING(0 10,0 0)',-
1),'Beacon Road');
INSERT INTO ROADS (ID,GEOM,NAME ) VALUES (2,ST_GeomFromText('LINESTRING(0 0,0 10)',-
1),’Violet Road');
INSERT INTO ROADS (ID,GEOM,NAME ) VALUES (3,ST_GeomFromText('LINESTRING(0 0,10 0)',-
1),’Skelton Street');
INSERT INTO ROADS (ID,GEOM,NAME ) VALUES (4,ST_GeomFromText('LINESTRING(0 0,10 10)',-
1),'Fifth Avenue');
INSERT INTO ROADS (ID,GEOM,NAME ) VALUES (5,ST_GeomFromText('LINESTRING(0 10,0 0)',-
1),'Main Street');
INSERT INTO ROADS (ID,GEOM,NAME ) VALUES (6,ST_GeomFromText('LINESTRING(10 0,0 0)',-
1),’Lipton Street');

You can use the GIST function to create an index on the geometry column:
CREATE INDEX roads_index ON roads using GIST (geom);

AsText(geometry) is a PostGIS functions that returns a text representation of the geometry:

SELECT id, ST_AsText(geom) AS geom, name FROM ROADS order by id;

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id | geom | name
----+-----------------------+----------------
1 | LINESTRING(0 10,0 0) | Bacon Road
2 | LINESTRING(0 0,0 10) | Violet Road
3 | LINESTRING(0 0,10 0) | Skelton Street
4 | LINESTRING(0 0,10 10) | Fifth Avenue
5 | LINESTRING(0 10,0 0) | Main Street
6 | LINESTRING(10 0,0 0) | Lipton Street
(6 rows)

After an index has been created, the && operator can be used in a query:

SELECT NAME, ST_AsText(GEOM) FROM ROADS WHERE GEOM && SetSRID('BOX3D(10 10,10 10)
'::box3d,-1);

name | astext
--------------+-----------------------
Fifth Avenue | LINESTRING(0 0,10 10)
(1 row)

The BOX3D function is used to specify a bounding box. The && operator uses the index to quickly reduce the result
set down to only those geometries which have bounding boxes that overlap the specified area.
You can use the ~= operator to check if two geometries are geometrically identical:

SELECT ID, NAME FROM roads WHERE GEOM ~= ST_GeomFromText('LINESTRING(0 10,0 0)',-1)
order by id;

id | name
----+-------------
1 | Bacon Road
5 | Main Street
(2 rows)

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 CHAPTER 5

Uninstalling PostGIS

This section walks you through uninstalling PostGIS.

5.1 Uninstalling PostGIS on a CentOS/RHEL Host

To uninstall PostGIS on a CentOS/RHEL host, assume the identity of the root user and invoke the following command:
On CentOS/RHEL 6 and 7:

yum erase edb-as<xx>-postgis-*<y.y.y>

On CentOS/RHEL 8:

dnf erase edb-as<xx>-postgis-*<y.y.y>

Where <xx> is the Advanced Server version and <y.y.y> is the PostGIS version you want to uninstall.

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5.2 Uninstalling PostGIS on a Debian/Ubuntu Host

To uninstall PostGIS on a Debian or Ubuntu host, invoke the following command:

apt-get remove edb-as<xx>-postgis-<y.y>*

Where <xx> is the Advanced Server version and <y.y> is the PostGIS version you want to uninstall

5.2. Uninstalling PostGIS on a Debian/Ubuntu Host 18

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5.3 Uninstalling PostGIS on a Windows Host

The PostGIS graphical installer creates an uninstaller that you can use to remove PostGIS. The uninstaller is
created in the installation directory that you have specified while installing PostGIS (default is C:\Program
Files\edb\as12).
1. Navigate into the directory that contains the uninstaller and assume superuser privileges. Open the uninstaller
and click Yes to begin uninstalling PostGIS:

Fig. 5.1: The Uninstaller opens

2. The uninstallation process begins. Click OK when the uninstallation completes:

Fig. 5.2: Uninstallation is Complete

5.3. Uninstalling PostGIS on a Windows Host 19

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5.4 Uninstalling PostGIS on an SLES Host

To uninstall PostGIS on an SLES host, assume the identity of the root user and invoke the following command:

zypper remove edb-as<xx>-postgis*

Where <xx> is the Advanced Server version supported with PostGIS version.

5.4. Uninstalling PostGIS on an SLES Host 20

 CHAPTER 6

Conclusion

EDB Postgres PostGIS User’s Guide

Copyright © 2020 EnterpriseDB Corporation.
All rights reserved.
EnterpriseDB® Corporation
34 Crosby Drive, Suite 201, Bedford, MA 01730, USA
T +1 781 357 3390 F +1 978 467 1307 E
[email protected]
www.enterprisedb.com
• EnterpriseDB and Postgres Enterprise Manager are registered trademarks of EnterpriseDB Corporation. EDB
and EDB Postgres are trademarks of EnterpriseDB Corporation. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle, Inc.
Other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners.
• EDB designs, establishes coding best practices, reviews, and verifies input validation for the logon UI for EDB
Postgres product where present. EDB follows the same approach for additional input components, however the
nature of the product may require that it accepts freeform SQL, WMI or other strings to be entered and submitted
by trusted users for which limited validation is possible. In such cases it is not possible to prevent users from
entering incorrect or otherwise dangerous inputs.
• EDB reserves the right to add features to products that accept freeform SQL, WMI or other potentially dangerous
inputs from authenticated, trusted users in the future, but will ensure all such features are designed and tested to
ensure they provide the minimum possible risk, and where possible, require superuser or equivalent privileges.
• EDB does not that warrant that we can or will anticipate all potential threats and therefore our process cannot
fully guarantee that all potential vulnerabilities have been addressed or considered.

21
 Index

C
Conclusion, 21
Creating Extensions, 12

I
Installing PostGIS, 2
Installing PostGIS on a CentOS/RHEL Host, 2
Installing PostGIS on a Debian/Ubuntu Host, 5
Installing PostGIS on a Windows Host, 6
Installing PostGIS on an SLES 12 Host, 11

U
Uninstalling PostGIS, 17
Uninstalling PostGIS on a CentOS/RHEL Host, 17
Uninstalling PostGIS on a Debian/Ubuntu Host, 18
Uninstalling PostGIS on a Windows Host, 19
Uninstalling PostGIS on an SLES Host, 20
Upgrading PostGIS, 14
Using PostGIS, 15

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