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><H1
CLASS="SECT1"
><A
NAME="DATATYPE-GEOMETRIC"
>5.7. Geometric Types</A
></H1
><P
> Geometric data types represent two-dimensional spatial
objects. <A
HREF="datatype-geometric.html#DATATYPE-GEO-TABLE"
>Table 5-17</A
> shows the geometric
types available in <SPAN
CLASS="PRODUCTNAME"
>PostgreSQL</SPAN
>. The
most fundamental type, the point, forms the basis for all of the
other types.
</P
><DIV
CLASS="TABLE"
><A
NAME="DATATYPE-GEO-TABLE"
></A
><P
><B
>Table 5-17. Geometric Types</B
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="1"
CLASS="CALSTABLE"
><THEAD
><TR
><TH
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>Geometric Type</TH
><TH
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>Storage</TH
><TH
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>Representation</TH
><TH
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>Description</TH
></TR
></THEAD
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>point</TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>16 bytes</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>(x,y)</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>Point in space</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>line</TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>32 bytes</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>((x1,y1),(x2,y2))</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>Infinite line (not fully implemented)</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>lseg</TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>32 bytes</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>((x1,y1),(x2,y2))</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>Finite line segment</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>box</TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>32 bytes</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>((x1,y1),(x2,y2))</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>Rectangular box</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>path</TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>16+16n bytes</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>((x1,y1),...)</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>Closed path (similar to polygon)</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>path</TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>16+16n bytes</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>[(x1,y1),...]</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>Open path</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>polygon</TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>40+16n bytes</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>((x1,y1),...)</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>Polygon (similar to closed path)</TD
></TR
><TR
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>circle</TT
></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>24 bytes</TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
><(x,y),r></TD
><TD
ALIGN="LEFT"
VALIGN="TOP"
>Circle (center and radius)</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
></DIV
><P
> A rich set of functions and operators is available to perform various geometric
operations such as scaling, translation, rotation, and determining
intersections. They are explained in <A
HREF="functions-geometry.html"
>Section 6.9</A
>.
</P
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="AEN4340"
>5.7.1. Point</A
></H2
><A
NAME="AEN4342"
></A
><P
> Points are the fundamental two-dimensional building block for geometric types.
<TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>point</TT
> is specified using the following syntax:
</P><PRE
CLASS="SYNOPSIS"
>( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y</I
></TT
> )
<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y</I
></TT
></PRE
><P>
where the arguments are
<P
></P
></P><DIV
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
><DL
><DT
><TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x</I
></TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> the x-axis coordinate as a floating-point number
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y</I
></TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> the y-axis coordinate as a floating-point number
</P
></DD
></DL
></DIV
><P>
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="AEN4362"
>5.7.2. Line Segment</A
></H2
><A
NAME="AEN4364"
></A
><P
> Line segments (<TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>lseg</TT
>) are represented by pairs of points.
<TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>lseg</TT
> is specified using the following syntax:
</P><PRE
CLASS="SYNOPSIS"
>( ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> ) , ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x2</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y2</I
></TT
> ) )
( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> ) , ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x2</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y2</I
></TT
> )
<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x2</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y2</I
></TT
></PRE
><P>
where the arguments are
<P
></P
></P><DIV
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
><DL
><DT
>(<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
>,<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
>)<BR>(<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x2</I
></TT
>,<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y2</I
></TT
>)</DT
><DD
><P
> the end points of the line segment
</P
></DD
></DL
></DIV
><P>
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="AEN4392"
>5.7.3. Box</A
></H2
><A
NAME="AEN4394"
></A
><P
> Boxes are represented by pairs of points that are opposite
corners of the box.
<TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>box</TT
> is specified using the following syntax:
</P><PRE
CLASS="SYNOPSIS"
>( ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> ) , ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x2</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y2</I
></TT
> ) )
( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> ) , ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x2</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y2</I
></TT
> )
<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x2</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y2</I
></TT
></PRE
><P>
where the arguments are
<P
></P
></P><DIV
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
><DL
><DT
>(<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
>,<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
>)<BR>(<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x2</I
></TT
>,<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y2</I
></TT
>)</DT
><DD
><P
> opposite corners of the box
</P
></DD
></DL
></DIV
><P>
</P
><P
> Boxes are output using the first syntax.
The corners are reordered on input to store
the upper right corner, then the lower left corner.
Other corners of the box can be entered, but the lower
left and upper right corners are determined from the input and stored corners.
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="AEN4422"
>5.7.4. Path</A
></H2
><A
NAME="AEN4424"
></A
><P
> Paths are represented by connected sets of points. Paths can be
<I
CLASS="FIRSTTERM"
>open</I
>, where
the first and last points in the set are not connected, and <I
CLASS="FIRSTTERM"
>closed</I
>,
where the first and last point are connected. Functions
<TT
CLASS="FUNCTION"
>popen(p)</TT
>
and
<TT
CLASS="FUNCTION"
>pclose(p)</TT
>
are supplied to force a path to be open or closed, and functions
<TT
CLASS="FUNCTION"
>isopen(p)</TT
>
and
<TT
CLASS="FUNCTION"
>isclosed(p)</TT
>
are supplied to test for either type in a query.
</P
><P
> <TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>path</TT
> is specified using the following syntax:
</P><PRE
CLASS="SYNOPSIS"
>( ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> ) , ... , ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>xn</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>yn</I
></TT
> ) )
[ ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> ) , ... , ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>xn</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>yn</I
></TT
> ) ]
( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> ) , ... , ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>xn</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>yn</I
></TT
> )
( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> , ... , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>xn</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>yn</I
></TT
> )
<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> , ... , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>xn</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>yn</I
></TT
> </PRE
><P>
where the arguments are
<P
></P
></P><DIV
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
><DL
><DT
>(<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x</I
></TT
>,<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y</I
></TT
>)</DT
><DD
><P
> End points of the line segments comprising the path.
A leading square bracket (<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>[</TT
>) indicates an open path, while
a leading parenthesis (<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>(</TT
>) indicates a closed path.
</P
></DD
></DL
></DIV
><P>
</P
><P
> Paths are output using the first syntax.
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="AEN4466"
>5.7.5. Polygon</A
></H2
><A
NAME="AEN4468"
></A
><P
> Polygons are represented by sets of points. Polygons should probably be
considered equivalent to closed paths, but are stored differently
and have their own set of support routines.
</P
><P
> <TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>polygon</TT
> is specified using the following syntax:
</P><PRE
CLASS="SYNOPSIS"
>( ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> ) , ... , ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>xn</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>yn</I
></TT
> ) )
( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> ) , ... , ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>xn</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>yn</I
></TT
> )
( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> , ... , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>xn</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>yn</I
></TT
> )
<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x1</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y1</I
></TT
> , ... , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>xn</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>yn</I
></TT
> </PRE
><P>
where the arguments are
<P
></P
></P><DIV
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
><DL
><DT
>(<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x</I
></TT
>,<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y</I
></TT
>)</DT
><DD
><P
> End points of the line segments comprising the boundary of the
polygon
</P
></DD
></DL
></DIV
><P>
</P
><P
> Polygons are output using the first syntax.
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="AEN4498"
>5.7.6. Circle</A
></H2
><A
NAME="AEN4500"
></A
><P
> Circles are represented by a center point and a radius.
<TT
CLASS="TYPE"
>circle</TT
> is specified using the following syntax:
</P><PRE
CLASS="SYNOPSIS"
>< ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y</I
></TT
> ) , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>r</I
></TT
> >
( ( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y</I
></TT
> ) , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>r</I
></TT
> )
( <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y</I
></TT
> ) , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>r</I
></TT
>
<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y</I
></TT
> , <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>r</I
></TT
> </PRE
><P>
where the arguments are
<P
></P
></P><DIV
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
><DL
><DT
>(<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>x</I
></TT
>,<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>y</I
></TT
>)</DT
><DD
><P
> center of the circle
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>r</I
></TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> radius of the circle
</P
></DD
></DL
></DIV
><P>
</P
><P
> Circles are output using the first syntax.
</P
></DIV
></DIV
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