12.18. Spatial Extensions

12.18.1. Introduction to MySQL Spatial Support
12.18.2. The OpenGIS Geometry Model
12.18.3. Supported Spatial Data Formats
12.18.4. Creating a Spatially Enabled MySQL Database
12.18.5. Spatial Analysis Functions
12.18.6. Optimizing Spatial Analysis
12.18.7. MySQL Conformance and Compatibility

MySQL supports spatial extensions to enable the generation, storage, and analysis of geographic features. These features are available for MyISAM, InnoDB, NDB, and ARCHIVE tables.

For spatial columns, MyISAM supports both SPATIAL and non-SPATIAL indexes. Other storage engines support non-SPATIAL indexes, as described in Section 13.1.13, "CREATE INDEX Syntax".

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 http://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: http://forums.mysql.com/list.php?23.