Chapter 18. Spatial Extensions
MySQL supports spatial extensions to allow the generation, storage,
and analysis of geographic features. These features are available
for MyISAM, InnoDB,
NDB, BDB, and
ARCHIVE tables. (However, the
ARCHIVE engine does not support indexing, so
spatial columns in ARCHIVE columns cannot be
indexed. MySQL Cluster also does not support indexing of spatial
columns.)
This chapter covers the following topics:
The basis of these spatial extensions in the OpenGIS geometry
model
Data formats for representing spatial data
How to use spatial data in MySQL
Use of indexing for spatial data
MySQL differences from the OpenGIS specification
Additional resources
The Open Geospatial Consortium publishes the
OpenGIS® Simple Features Specifications For
SQL, a document that proposes several conceptual
ways for extending an SQL RDBMS to support spatial data. This
specification is available from the OGC Web site at
https://www.opengis.org/docs/99-049.pdf.
If you have questions or concerns about the use of the spatial
extensions to MySQL, you can discuss them in the GIS forum:
https://forums.mysql.com/list.php?23.
