Spatial database

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A spatial database is a general-purpose database (usually a relational database) that has been enhanced to include spatial data that represents objects defined in a geometric space, along with tools for querying and analyzing such data.

Contents

Most spatial databases allow the representation of simple geometric objects such as points, lines and polygons. Some spatial databases handle more complex structures such as 3D objects, topological coverages, linear networks, and triangulated irregular networks (TINs). While typical databases have developed to manage various numeric and character types of data, such databases require additional functionality to process spatial data types efficiently, and developers have often added geometry or feature data types.

Geographic database (or geodatabase) is a georeferenced spatial database, used for storing and manipulating geographic data (or geodata, i.e., data associated with a location on Earth), [lower-alpha 1] especially in geographic information systems (GIS). Almost all current relational and object-relational database management systems now have spatial extensions, and some GIS software vendors have developed their own spatial extensions to database management systems.

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) developed the Simple Features specification (first released in 1997) [1] and sets standards for adding spatial functionality to database systems. [2] The SQL/MM Spatial ISO/IEC standard is a part of the structured query language and multimedia standard extending the Simple Features. [3]

Characteristics

The core functionality add by a spatial extension to a database is one or more spatial datatypes, which allow for the storage of spatial data as attribute values in a table. [4] Most commonly, a single spatial value would be a geometric primitive (point, line, polygon, etc.) based on the vector data model. The datatypes in most spatial databases are based on the OGC Simple Features specification for representing geometric primitives. Some spatial databases also support the storage of raster data. Because all geographic locations must be specified according to a spatial reference system, spatial databases must also allow for the tracking and transformation of coordinate systems. In many systems, when a spatial column is defined in a table, it also includes a choice of coordinate system, chosen from a list of available systems that is stored in a lookup table.

The second major functionality extension in a spatial database is the addition of spatial capabilities to the query language (e.g., SQL); these give the spatial database the same query, analysis, and manipulation operations that are available in traditional GIS software. In most relational database management systems, this functionality is implemented as a set of new functions that can be used in SQL SELECT statements. Several types of operations are specified by the Open Geospatial Consortium standard:

Some databases support only simplified or modified sets of these operations, especially in cases of NoSQL systems like MongoDB and CouchDB.

Spatial index

A spatial index is used by a spatial database to optimize spatial queries. Database systems use indices to quickly look up values by sorting data values in a linear (e.g. alphabetical) order; however, this way of indexing data is not optimal for spatial queries in two- or three-dimensional space. Instead, spatial databases use a spatial index designed specifically for multi-dimensional ordering. [5] Common spatial index methods include:

Spatial query

A spatial query is a special type of database query supported by spatial databases, including geodatabases. The queries differ from non-spatial SQL queries in several important ways. Two of the most important are that they allow for the use of geometry data types such as points, lines and polygons and that these queries consider the spatial relationship between these geometries.

The function names for queries differ across geodatabases. The following are a few of the functions built into PostGIS, a free geodatabase which is a PostgreSQL extension (the term 'geometry' refers to a point, line, box or other two or three dimensional shape): [7]

Function prototype: functionName (parameter(s)) : return type

Thus, a spatial join between a points layer of cities and a polygon layer of countries could be performed in a spatially-extended SQL statement as:

SELECT * FROM cities, countries WHERE ST_Contains(countries.shape, cities.shape)

The Intersect vector overlay operation (a core element of GIS software) could be replicated as:

SELECT ST_Intersection(veg.shape, soil.shape) int_poly, veg.*, soil.* FROM veg, soil where ST_Intersects(veg.shape, soil.shape)

Spatial database management systems

List

Table of free systems especially for spatial data processing

DBSLicenseDistributedSpatial objectsSpatial functions PostgreSQL interfaceUMN MapServer interfaceDocumentationModifiable HDFS
Apache Drill Apache License 2.0 yesyesyes - Drill Geospatial Functions Documentation yesnoOfficial Documentation ANSI SQL yes
ArangoDB Apache License 2.0 yesyesyes - capabilities overview query language functions nonoofficial documentation AQLno
GeoMesa Apache License 2.0yesyes (Simple Features)yes (JTS)no (manufacturable with GeoTools)noparts of the functions, a few exampleswith Simple Feature Access in Java Virtual Machine and Apache Spark are all kinds of tasks solvableyes
H2 (H2GIS) LGPL 3 (since v1.3), GPL 3 beforenoyes (custom, no raster) Simple Feature Access and custom functions for H2Networkyesnoyes (homepage)SQLno
Ingres GPL or proprietaryyes (if extension is installed)yes (custom, no raster)Geometry Engine, Open Source [21] nowith MapScriptjust brieflywith C and OMEno
Neo4J-spatial [22] GNU affero general public licensenoyes (Simple Features)yes (contain, cover, covered by, cross, disjoint, intersect, intersect window, overlap, touch, within and within distance)nonojust brieflyfork of JTS no
PostgreSQL with PostGIS GNU General Public License noyes (Simple Features and raster)yes (Simple Feature Access and raster functions)yesyesdetailedSQL, in connection with R no
Postgres-XL with PostGIS Mozilla public license and GNU general public licenseyesyes (Simple Features and raster)yes (Simple Feature Access and raster functions)yesyesPostGIS: yes, Postgres-XL: brieflySQL, in connection with R or Tcl or Python no
Rasdaman server GPL, client LGPL, enterprise proprietaryyesjust rasterraster manipulation with rasqlyeswith Web Coverage Service or Web Processing Service detailed wikiown defined function in enterprise editionno
RethinkDB AGPL yesyes
  • distance
  • getIntersecting
  • getNearest
  • includes
  • intersects
nonoofficial documentation [23] forkingno

See also

Notes

  1. The term "geodatabase" may also refer specifically to a set of proprietary spatial database formats, Geodatabase (Esri).

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">PostGIS</span> Geospatial extension for the PostgreSQL Database

PostGIS is an open source software program that adds support for geographic objects to the PostgreSQL object-relational database. PostGIS follows the Simple Features for SQL specification from the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">TerraLib</span> Geographic information system software library

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">DE-9IM</span> Topological model

The Dimensionally Extended 9-Intersection Model (DE-9IM) is a topological model and a standard used to describe the spatial relations of two regions, in geometry, point-set topology, geospatial topology, and fields related to computer spatial analysis. The spatial relations expressed by the model are invariant to rotation, translation and scaling transformations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Array DBMS</span> System that provides database services specifically for arrays

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GeoSPARQL is a standard for representation and querying of geospatial linked data for the Semantic Web from the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). The definition of a small ontology based on well-understood OGC standards is intended to provide a standardized exchange basis for geospatial RDF data which can support both qualitative and quantitative spatial reasoning and querying with the SPARQL database query language.

A Geodatabase is a proprietary GIS file format developed in the late 1990s by Esri to represent, store, and organize spatial datasets within a geographic information system. A geodatabase is both a logical data model and the physical implementation of that logical model in several proprietary file formats released during the 2000s. The geodatabase design is based on the spatial database model for storing spatial data in relational and object-relational databases. Given the dominance of Esri in the GIS industry, the term "geodatabase" is used by some as a generic trademark for any spatial database, regardless of platform or design.

References

  1. McKee, Lance (2016). "OGC History (detailed)". OGC. Retrieved 2016-07-12. [...] 1997 [...] OGC released the OpenGIS Simple Features Specification, which specifies the interface that enables diverse systems to communicate in terms of 'simple features' which are based on 2D geometry. The supported geometry types include points, lines, linestrings, curves, and polygons. Each geometric object is associated with a Spatial Reference System, which describes the coordinate space in which the geometric object is defined.
  2. OGC Homepage
  3. Kresse, Wolfgang; Danko, David M., eds. (2010). Springer handbook of geographic information (1. ed.). Berlin: Springer. pp.  82–83. ISBN   9783540726807.
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  22. "Neo4j Spatial is a library of utilities for Neo4j that facilitates the enabling of spatial operations on data. In particular you can add spatial indexes to already located data, and perform spatial". GitHub . 2019-02-18.
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Further reading