12.16.1 Spatial Function Reference

The following table lists each spatial function and provides a short description of each one.

Table 12.21 Spatial Functions

Name	Description	Deprecated
Area()	Return Polygon or MultiPolygon area	Yes
AsBinary(), AsWKB()	Convert from internal geometry format to WKB	Yes
AsText(), AsWKT()	Convert from internal geometry format to WKT	Yes
Buffer()	Return geometry of points within given distance from geometry	Yes
Centroid()	Return centroid as a point	Yes
Contains()	Whether MBR of one geometry contains MBR of another	Yes
ConvexHull()	Return convex hull of geometry	Yes
Crosses()	Whether one geometry crosses another	Yes
Dimension()	Dimension of geometry	Yes
Disjoint()	Whether MBRs of two geometries are disjoint	Yes
EndPoint()	End Point of LineString	Yes
Envelope()	Return MBR of geometry	Yes
Equals()	Whether MBRs of two geometries are equal	Yes
ExteriorRing()	Return exterior ring of Polygon	Yes
GeomCollFromText(), GeometryCollectionFromText()	Return geometry collection from WKT	Yes
GeomCollFromWKB(), GeometryCollectionFromWKB()	Return geometry collection from WKB	Yes
GeometryCollection()	Construct geometry collection from geometries
GeometryN()	Return N-th geometry from geometry collection	Yes
GeometryType()	Return name of geometry type	Yes
GeomFromText(), GeometryFromText()	Return geometry from WKT	Yes
GeomFromWKB(), GeometryFromWKB()	Return geometry from WKB	Yes
GLength()	Return length of LineString	Yes
InteriorRingN()	Return N-th interior ring of Polygon	Yes
Intersects()	Whether MBRs of two geometries intersect	Yes
IsClosed()	Whether a geometry is closed and simple	Yes
IsEmpty()	Whether a geometry is empty	Yes
IsSimple()	Whether a geometry is simple	Yes
LineFromText(), LineStringFromText()	Construct LineString from WKT	Yes
LineFromWKB(), LineStringFromWKB()	Construct LineString from WKB	Yes
LineString()	Construct LineString from Point values
MBRContains()	Whether MBR of one geometry contains MBR of another
MBRCoveredBy()	Whether one MBR is covered by another
MBRCovers()	Whether one MBR covers another
MBRDisjoint()	Whether MBRs of two geometries are disjoint
MBREqual()	Whether MBRs of two geometries are equal	Yes
MBREquals()	Whether MBRs of two geometries are equal
MBRIntersects()	Whether MBRs of two geometries intersect
MBROverlaps()	Whether MBRs of two geometries overlap
MBRTouches()	Whether MBRs of two geometries touch
MBRWithin()	Whether MBR of one geometry is within MBR of another
MLineFromText(), MultiLineStringFromText()	Construct MultiLineString from WKT	Yes
MLineFromWKB(), MultiLineStringFromWKB()	Construct MultiLineString from WKB	Yes
MPointFromText(), MultiPointFromText()	Construct MultiPoint from WKT	Yes
MPointFromWKB(), MultiPointFromWKB()	Construct MultiPoint from WKB	Yes
MPolyFromText(), MultiPolygonFromText()	Construct MultiPolygon from WKT	Yes
MPolyFromWKB(), MultiPolygonFromWKB()	Construct MultiPolygon from WKB	Yes
MultiLineString()	Contruct MultiLineString from LineString values
MultiPoint()	Construct MultiPoint from Point values
MultiPolygon()	Construct MultiPolygon from Polygon values
NumGeometries()	Return number of geometries in geometry collection	Yes
NumInteriorRings()	Return number of interior rings in Polygon	Yes
NumPoints()	Return number of points in LineString	Yes
Overlaps()	Whether MBRs of two geometries overlap	Yes
Point()	Construct Point from coordinates
PointFromText()	Construct Point from WKT	Yes
PointFromWKB()	Construct Point from WKB	Yes
PointN()	Return N-th point from LineString	Yes
PolyFromText(), PolygonFromText()	Construct Polygon from WKT	Yes
PolyFromWKB(), PolygonFromWKB()	Construct Polygon from WKB	Yes
Polygon()	Construct Polygon from LineString arguments
Distance()	The distance of one geometry from another	Yes
SRID()	Return spatial reference system ID for geometry	Yes
ST_Area()	Return Polygon or MultiPolygon area
ST_AsBinary(), ST_AsWKB()	Convert from internal geometry format to WKB
ST_AsGeoJSON()	Generate GeoJSON object from geometry
ST_AsText(), ST_AsWKT()	Convert from internal geometry format to WKT
ST_Buffer()	Return geometry of points within given distance from geometry
ST_Buffer_Strategy()	Produce strategy option for ST_Buffer()
ST_Centroid()	Return centroid as a point
ST_Contains()	Whether one geometry contains another
ST_ConvexHull()	Return convex hull of geometry
ST_Crosses()	Whether one geometry crosses another
ST_Difference()	Return point set difference of two geometries
ST_Dimension()	Dimension of geometry
ST_Disjoint()	Whether one geometry is disjoint from another
ST_Distance()	The distance of one geometry from another
ST_Distance_Sphere()	Minimum distance on earth between two geometries
ST_EndPoint()	End Point of LineString
ST_Envelope()	Return MBR of geometry
ST_Equals()	Whether one geometry is equal to another
ST_ExteriorRing()	Return exterior ring of Polygon
ST_GeoHash()	Produce a geohash value
ST_GeomCollFromText(), ST_GeometryCollectionFromText(), ST_GeomCollFromTxt()	Return geometry collection from WKT
ST_GeomCollFromWKB(), ST_GeometryCollectionFromWKB()	Return geometry collection from WKB
ST_GeometryN()	Return N-th geometry from geometry collection
ST_GeometryType()	Return name of geometry type
ST_GeomFromGeoJSON()	Generate geometry from GeoJSON object
ST_GeomFromText(), ST_GeometryFromText()	Return geometry from WKT
ST_GeomFromWKB(), ST_GeometryFromWKB()	Return geometry from WKB
ST_InteriorRingN()	Return N-th interior ring of Polygon
ST_Intersection()	Return point set intersection of two geometries
ST_Intersects()	Whether one geometry intersects another
ST_IsClosed()	Whether a geometry is closed and simple
ST_IsEmpty()	Whether a geometry is empty
ST_IsSimple()	Whether a geometry is simple
ST_IsValid()	Whether a geometry is valid
ST_LatFromGeoHash()	Return latitude from geohash value
ST_Length()	Return length of LineString
ST_LineFromText(), ST_LineStringFromText()	Construct LineString from WKT
ST_LineFromWKB(), ST_LineStringFromWKB()	Construct LineString from WKB
ST_LongFromGeoHash()	Return longitude from geohash value
ST_MakeEnvelope()	Rectangle around two points
ST_MLineFromText(), ST_MultiLineStringFromText()	Construct MultiLineString from WKT
ST_MLineFromWKB(), ST_MultiLineStringFromWKB()	Construct MultiLineString from WKB
ST_MPointFromText(), ST_MultiPointFromText()	Construct MultiPoint from WKT
ST_MPointFromWKB(), ST_MultiPointFromWKB()	Construct MultiPoint from WKB
ST_MPolyFromText(), ST_MultiPolygonFromText()	Construct MultiPolygon from WKT
ST_MPolyFromWKB(), ST_MultiPolygonFromWKB()	Construct MultiPolygon from WKB
ST_NumGeometries()	Return number of geometries in geometry collection
ST_NumInteriorRing(), ST_NumInteriorRings()	Return number of interior rings in Polygon
ST_NumPoints()	Return number of points in LineString
ST_Overlaps()	Whether one geometry overlaps another
ST_PointFromGeoHash()	Convert geohash value to POINT value
ST_PointFromText()	Construct Point from WKT
ST_PointFromWKB()	Construct Point from WKB
ST_PointN()	Return N-th point from LineString
ST_PolyFromText(), ST_PolygonFromText()	Construct Polygon from WKT
ST_PolyFromWKB(), ST_PolygonFromWKB()	Construct Polygon from WKB
ST_Simplify()	Return simplified geometry
ST_SRID()	Return spatial reference system ID for geometry
ST_StartPoint()	Start Point of LineString
ST_SymDifference()	Return point set symmetric difference of two geometries
ST_Touches()	Whether one geometry touches another
ST_Union()	Return point set union of two geometries
ST_Validate()	Return validated geometry
ST_Within()	Whether one geometry is within another
ST_X()	Return X coordinate of Point
ST_Y()	Return Y coordinate of Point
StartPoint()	Start Point of LineString	Yes
Touches()	Whether one geometry touches another	Yes
Within()	Whether MBR of one geometry is within MBR of another	Yes
X()	Return X coordinate of Point	Yes
Y()	Return Y coordinate of Point	Yes