Geo functions

These functions can be used when working with and analysing geospatial data.

Point and geometry

• A point is composed of two floats that represent the longitude (east/west) and latitude (north/south) of a location.

• A geometry is a type of object defined in the GeoJSON spec, of which Polygon is the most common. They can be passed in to the geo functions as objects that contain a "type" (such as "Polygon") and "coordinates" (an array of points).

geo::area

The geo::area function calculates the area of a geometry in square metres.

geo::area(geometry) -> number

The following example shows this function, and its output, when used in a RETURN statement for four approximate points found on a map for the US state of Wyoming which has an area of 253,340 km² and a mostly rectangular shape. Note: the doubled square brackets are because the function takes an array of an array to allow for more complex types such as MultiPolygon.

RETURN geo::area({
  type: "Polygon",
  coordinates: [[
    [-111.0690, 45.0032],
    [-104.0838, 44.9893],
    [-104.0910, 40.9974],
    [-111.0672, 40.9862]
  ]]
});

253317731850.3478f

If the argument is not a geometry type, then an error will be returned.

RETURN geo::area(12345);

-- 'Incorrect arguments for function geo::area(). Argument 1 was the wrong type. Expected `geometry` but found `12345`'

geo::bearing

The geo::bearing function calculates the bearing between two geolocation points. Bearing begins at 0 degrees to indicate north, increasing clockwise into positive values and decreasing counterclockwise into negative values that converge at 180 degrees.

geo::bearing($from: point, $to: point) -> number

The following example shows this function, and its output, when used in a RETURN statement:

-- LET used here for readability
LET $paris = (2.358058597411099, 48.861109346459536);
LET $le_puy_en_velay = (3.883428431947686, 45.04383588468415);
RETURN geo::bearing($paris, $le_puy_en_velay);
RETURN geo::bearing($le_puy_en_velay, $paris);

-- Slightly east of directly south
164.18154786094604f
-- Slightly west of directly north
-14.70308114652183f

geo::centroid

The geo::centroid function calculates the centroid between multiple geolocation points.

geo::centroid(geometry) -> number

The following example shows this function, and its output, when used in a RETURN statement. Note: the doubled square brackets are because the function takes an array of an array to allow for more complex types such as MultiPolygon.

RETURN geo::centroid({
  type: "Polygon",
  coordinates: [[
    [-0.03921743611083, 51.88106875736589], -- London
    [30.48112752349519, 50.68377089794912], -- Kyiv
    [23.66174524001544, 42.94500782833793], -- Sofia
    [ 1.92481534361859, 41.69698118125476] -- Barcelona
  ]]
});

The return value is a mountainous region somewhere in Austria:

(13.483896437936192, 47.07117241195589)

geo::distance

The geo::distance function calculates the haversine distance, in metres, between two geolocation points.

geo::distance($from: point, $to: point) -> number

The following example shows this function, and its output, when used in a RETURN statement:

let $london = (-0.04592553673505285, 51.555282574465764);
let $harare = (30.463880214538577, -17.865161568822085);
RETURN geo::distance($london, $harare);

8268604.251890703f

geo::hash::decode

The geo::hash::decode function converts a geohash into a geolocation point.

geo::hash::decode(point) -> string

The following example shows this function, and its output, when used in a RETURN statement:

RETURN geo::hash::decode("mpuxk4s24f51");

(51.50986494496465, -0.11809204705059528)

geo::hash::encode

The geo::hash::encode function converts a geolocation point into a geohash.

geo::hash::encode(point) -> string

The function accepts a second argument, which determines the accuracy and granularity of the geohash.

geo::hash::encode(point, $granularity: number) -> string

The following example shows this function, and its output, when used in a RETURN statement:

RETURN geo::hash::encode( (51.509865, -0.118092) );

-- 'mpuxk4s24f51'

The following example shows this function with two arguments, and its output, when used in a select statement:

RETURN geo::hash::encode( (51.509865, -0.118092), 5 );

-- 'mpuxk'

geo::is_valid

The geo::is_valid function determines if a geometry type is a geography type. Geography types are used to store geolocation data in a Geographic Coordinate System (GCS), whereas geometry types can store geolocation data in any coordinate system, including GCS, mathematical planes, board game layouts, etc...

A geography type add the following constraint: each Point coordinates are in the range of -180° to 180° for longitude and -90° to 90° for latitude.

geo::is_valid(geometry) -> bool

The following examples show this function, and its output, when used in a RETURN statement:

RETURN geo::is_valid( (51.509865, -0.118092) );

-- true

RETURN geo::is_valid( (-181.0, -0.118092) );

-- false