11.2 The OpenGIS Geometry Model

The set of geometry types proposed by OGC's SQL with Geometry Types environment is based on the OpenGIS Geometry Model. In this model, each geometric object has the following general properties:

• It is associated with a Spatial Reference System, which describes the coordinate space in which the object is defined.
• It belongs to some geometry class.

11.2.1 The Geometry Class Hierarchy

The geometry classes define a hierarchy as follows:

• Geometry (non-instantiable)
  • Point (instantiable)
  • Curve (non-instantiable)
    • LineString (instantiable)
      • Line
      • LinearRing
  • Surface (non-instantiable)
    • Polygon (instantiable)
  • GeometryCollection (instantiable)
    • MultiPoint (instantiable)
    • MultiCurve (non-instantiable)
      • MultiLineString (instantiable)
    • MultiSurface (non-instantiable)
      • MultiPolygon (instantiable)

Some of these classes are abstract (non-instantiable). That is, it is not possible to create an object of these classes. Other classes are instantiable and objects may be created of them. Each class has properties and instantiable classes may have assertions (rules that define valid class instances).

Geometry is the base class. It's an abstract class. The instantiable subclasses of Geometry are restricted to zero-, one-, and two-dimensional geometric objects that exist in two-dimensional coordinate space. All instantiable geometry classes are defined so that valid instances of a geometry class are topologically closed (that is, all defined geometries include their boundary).

The base Geometry class has subclasses for Point, Curve, Surface and GeometryCollection:

• Point represents zero-dimensional objects.
• Curve represents one-dimensional objects, and has subclass LineString, with sub-subclasses Line and LinearRing.
• Surface is designed for two-dimensional objects and has subclass Polygon.
• GeometryCollection has specialised zero-, one-, and two-dimensional collection classes named MultiPoint, MultiLineString, and MultiPolygon for modelling geometries corresponding to collections of Points, LineStrings, and Polygons, respectively. MultiCurve and MultiSurface are introduced as abstract superclasses that generalise the collection interfaces to handle Curves and Surfaces.

Geometry, Curve, Surface, MultiCurve, and MultiSurface are defined as non-instantiable classes. They define a common set of methods for their subclasses and are included for the reason of extensibility.

Point, LineString, Polygon, GeometryCollection, MultiPoint, MultiLineString, and MultiPolygon are instantiable classes.

11.2.2 Class Geometry

Geometry is the root class of the hierarchy. It is a non-instantiable class but has a number of properties that are common to all geometry values created from any of the Geometry subclasses. These properties are described in the following list. (Particular subclasses have their own specific properties, described later.)

Geometry properties

A geometry value has the following properties:

• Its type. Each geometry belongs to one of the instantiable classes in the hierarchy.
• Its SRID, or Spatial Reference Identifier. This value identifies the geometry's associated Spatial Reference System that describes the coordinate space in which the geometry object is defined.
• Its coordinates in its Spatial Reference System, represented as double-precision (8-byte) numbers. All non-empty geometries include at least one pair of (X,Y) coordinates. Empty geometries contain no coordinates.

  Coordinates are related to the SRID. For example, in different coordinate systems, the distance between two objects may differ even when objects have the same coordinates, because the distance on the planar coordinate system and the distance on the geocentric system (coordinates on the Earth's surface) are different things.

• Its interior, boundary, and exterior. All geometries occupy some position in space. The exterior of a geometry is all space not occupied by the geometry. The interior is the space occupied by the geometry. The boundary is the interface between geometry's interior and exterior.
• Its MBR (Minimum Bounding Rectangle), or Envelope. This is the bounding geometry, formed by the minimum and maximum (X,Y) coordinates:

  ((MINX MINY, MAXX MINY, MAXX MAXY, MINX MAXY, MINX MINY))

• The quality of being simple or non-simple. Geometry values of some types (LineString, MultiPoint, MultiLineString) are either simple of non-simple. Each type determines its own assertions for being simple or non-simple.
• The quality of being closed or not closed. Geometry values of some types (LineString, MultiString) are either closed or not closed. Each type determines its own assertions for being closed or not closed.
• The quality of being empty or not empty A geometry is empty if it does not have any points. Exterior, interior and boundary of an empty geometry are not defined (that is, they are represented by a NULL value). An empty geometry is defined to be always simple and has an area of 0.
• Its dimension. A geometry can have a dimension of -1, 0, 1, or 2:
  • -1 stands for empty geometries.
  • 0 stands for geometries with no length and no area.
  • 1 stands for geometries with non-zero length and zero area.
  • 2 stands for geometries with non-zero area.

  Point objects have a dimension of zero. LineString objects have a dimension of 1. Polygon objects have a dimension of 2. The dimensions of MultiPoint, MultiLineString, and MultiPolygon objects are the same as the dimensions of the elements they consist of.

11.2.3 Class Point

A Point is a geometry that represents a single location in coordinate space.

Point Examples

• Imagine a large-scale map of the world with many cities. A point could represent each city.
• On a city map, a Point could represent a bus stop.

Point Properties

• X-coordinate value.
• Y-coordinate value.
• Point is defined as a zero-dimensional geometry.
• The boundary of a Point is the empty set.

11.2.4 Class Curve

A Curve is a one-dimensional geometry, usually represented by a sequence of points. Particular subclasses of Curve define the type of interpolation between points. Curve is a non-instantiable class.

Curve Properties

• The coordinates of its points.
• Curve is defined as one-dimensional geometry.
• A Curve is simple if it does not pass through the same point twice.
• A Curve is closed if its start point is equal to its end point.
• The boundary of a closed Curve is empty.
• The boundary of a non-closed Curve consists of its two end points.
• A Curve that is simple and closed is a LinearRing.

11.2.5 Class LineString

A LineString is a Curve with linear interpolation between points.

LineString Examples

• On a world map, LineString objects could represent rivers.
• In a city map, LineString objects could represent streets.

LineString Properties

• Coordinates of LineString segments, defined by each consecutive pair of points.
• A LineString is a Line if it consists of exactly two points.
• A LineString is a LinearRing if it's both closed and simple.

11.2.6 Class Surface

A Surface is a two-dimensional geometry. It is a non-instantiable class. Its only instantiable subclass is Polygon.

Surface Properties

• A Surface is defined as a two-dimensional geometry.
• The OpenGIS specification defines a simple Surface as a geometry that consists of a single "patch" that is associated with a single exterior boundary and zero or more interior boundaries.
• The boundary of a simple Surface is the set of closed curves corresponding to its exterior and interior boundaries.

11.2.7 Class Polygon

A Polygon is a planar Surface representing a multisided geometry. It is defined by a single exterior boundary and zero or more interior boundaries, where each interior boundary defines a hole in the Polygon.

Polygon Examples

• On a region map, Polygon objects could represent forests, districts, etc.

Polygon Assertions

• The boundary of a Polygon consists of a set of LinearRings (that is, LineStrings that are both simple and closed) that make up its exterior and interior boundaries.
• No two rings in the boundary cross. The rings in the boundary of a Polygon may intersect at a Point, but only as a tangent.
• A Polygon may not have cut lines, spikes, or punctures.
• The interior of every Polygon is a connected point set.
• The exterior of a Polygon with one or more holes is not connected. Each hole defines a connected component of the exterior.

In the above assertions, polygons are simple geometries. These assertions make a Polygon a simple geometry.

11.2.8 Class GeometryCollection

A GeometryCollection is a geometry that is a collection of one or more geometries of any class.

All the elements in a GeometryCollection must be in the same Spatial Reference System (that is, in the same coordinate system). GeometryCollection places no other constraints on its elements, although the subclasses of GeometryCollection described in the following sections may restrict membership. Retrictions may be based on:

• Element type (for example, a MultiPoint may contain only Point elements)
• Dimension
• Constraints on the degree of spatial overlap between elements

11.2.9 Class MultiPoint

A MultiPoint is a geometry collection composed of Point elements. The points are not connected or ordered in any way.

MultiPoint Examples

• On a world map, a Multipoint could represent a chain of small islands.
• On a city map, a Multipoint could represent the outlets for a ticket office.

MultiPoint Properties

• MultiPoint is defined as a zero-dimensional geometry.
• A MultiPoint is simple if no two of its Point values are equal (have identical coordinate values).
• The boundary of a MultiPoint is the empty set.

11.2.10 Class MultiCurve

A MultiCurve is a geometry collection composed of Curve elements. MultiCurve is a non-instantiable class.

MultiCurve Properties

• MultiCurve is defined as a one-dimensional geometry.
• A MultiCurve is simple if and only if all of its elements are simple, the only intersections between any two elements occur at points that are on the boundaries of both elements.
• The boundary of a MultiCurve is obtained by applying the "mod 2 union rule" (also known as the odd-even rule): A point is in the boundary of a MultiCurve if it is in the boundaries of an odd number of MultiCurve elements.
• A MultiCurve is closed if all of its elements are closed.
• The boundary of a closed MultiCurve is always empty.

11.2.11 Class MultiLineString

A MultiLineString is a MultiCurve geometry collection composed of LineString elements.

MultiLineString Examples

• On a region map, a MultiLineString could represent a river system or a highway system.

11.2.12 Class MultiSurface

A MultiSurface is a geometry collection composed of surface elements. MultiSurface is a non-instantiable class. Its only instantiable subclass is MultiPolygon.

MultiSurface Assertions

• The interiors of any two surfaces in a MultiSurface may not intersect.
• The boundaries of any two elements in a MultiSurface may intersect at most at a finite number of points.

11.2.13 Class MultiPolygon

A MultiPolygon is a MultiSurface object composed of Polygon elements.

MultiPolygon Examples

• On a region map, a MultiPolygon could represent a system of lakes.

MultiPolygon Assertions

• The interiors of two Polygon values that are elements of a MultiPolygon may not intersect.
• The boundaries of any two Polygon values that are elements of a MultiPolygon may not cross and may touch at only a finite number of points. (Crossing is also forbidden by the preceding assertion.)
• A MultiPolygon may not have cut lines, spikes or punctures. A MultiPolygon is a regular, closed point set.
• The interior of a MultiPolygon composed of more than one Polygon is not connected. The number of connected components of the interior of a MultiPolygon is equal to the number of Polygon values in the MultiPolygon.

MultiPolygon Properties

• A MultiPolygon is defined as a two-dimensional geometry.
• The boundary of a MultiPolygon is a set of closed curves (LineString values) corresponding to the boundaries of its Polygon elements.
• Each Curve in the boundary of the MultiPolygon is in the boundary of exactly one element Polygon.
• Every Curve in the boundary of an element Polygon is in the boundary of the MultiPolygon.

Hosting by: Hurra Communications Ltd.
Generated: 2007-01-26 17:58:46