Download Spatial SQL: A Query and Presentation Language

Spatial SQL: A Query
and Presentation
Language
Max J. Egenhofer
(Presenter: Yi-Shin Chen)
Outline
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Introduction
Spatial query language
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Separating retrieval and display instructions
Spatial SQL
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Spatial domain, operations, data definition, selecting by
pointing
GPL
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Guidelines for an SQL Extension
Requirements for Spatial Query Languages
Display Mode, variables, scale, window, context, content
Conclusion
Introduction
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The need for spatial query language
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Geographic Information System (GIS), Image Database,
Remote Sensing
Existing query languages are insufficient
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Only address the particular properties of lexical data
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Treat spatial data as integers and strings
Spatial Data have additional properties
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Geometry
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Graphical presentation
Example
SELECT ImageName
FROM S_Images
WHERE RECTANGLE(-77.748125, 38.695 , -77.348125 , 39.095) OVERLAPS area
Query Result :
image4/W775647N389000.jpg
image4/W775644N388927.jpg
image4/W775644N388855.jpg
image4/W775641N388783.jpg
image4/W775555N389000.jpg
image4/W775552N388927.jpg
image4/W775550N388855.jpg
image4/W775547N388783.jpg
image4/W775463N389002.jpg
image4/W775461N388930.jpg
image4/W775458N388858.jpg
image4/W775455N388786.jpg
Introduction -II
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Extending an existing language with spatial
concepts
SQL
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+ Spatial Concepts = Spatial SQL
Reason: spatial databases contain both spatial and
non-spatial data that will be the subject of user
queries
Guidelines for an SQL Extension
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SELECT-FROM-WHERE clause should keep
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Three categories of queries
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Exclusively about spatial properties
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About non-spatial properties
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Combine spatial and non-spatial properties
Should allow the user to pose non-spatial queries
appropriately
SELECT-FROM-WHERE is already complex
enough to use
Requirements for Spatial Query
Languages
GEOQL Extended PSQL KGIS
SQL
TIGRIS
Spatial ADT
+
+
+
+
+
Graphical Presentation
+
+
+
+
+
Result Combination
+
Display of context
+
+
Content Examination
Selection by Pointing
Display manipulation
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+
+
Legend
Labels
+
Selection of Map Scale
+
Area of Interest
+
Separating Retrieval and Display
Instructions
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User expectations
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Pose several queries in a raw
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Only modify the graphical parameter of objects
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Integration of a full display description into the
query language would make each user query
unnecessarily complex and long
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Retrieval language -> Spatial SQL
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Presentation language -> GPL
Spatial Domain
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Provides a higher level abstraction of data
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Four spatial domains:
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Spatial_0, Spatial_1, Spatial_2, Spatial_3
Spatial relationships refer to spatial concepts
such as topology and metric
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Only the specified spatial operations and
relationships apply to spatial attributes
Spatial Data Definition
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In general, a spatial relation will have exactly one
spatial attribute
CREATE TABLE city
(name char(100)
geometry spatial_2);
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Spatial SQL does not prevent from defining several
spatial attributes for a object
CREATE TABLE ocean
(name char(100)
geometry spatial_2
generalized_geometry spatial_0);
Spatial Operations – part one
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Functions upon a spatial attribute
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Dimension, boundary, interior, bounding-Nodes,
bounding-Edges, interior-Nodes, interior-Areas
SELECT boundary (geometry)
FROM city
WHERE name = “Los Angeles”
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Deal with arithmetic operations
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Length, area, volume, perimeter, extreme coordinates,
complement, convex hull
SELECT area (geometry)
FROM city
WHERE name = “Los Angeles”
Spatial Operations – part two
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Binary spatial operations
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Distance, direction, angle, minimum, average
Prefix formulation [Distance(city.geometry, highway.geometry)]
SELECT city.name
FROM city, ocean
WHERE distance (city.geometry, ocean.geometry) < 100KM
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Binary topologies relationships
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Disjoint, meet, overlap, covers, inside, contains, equal,
left/right, north/south, over/under
SELECT city.name
FROM city, ocean
WHERE city.geometry MEET ocean.geometry
Selection by Pointing
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Interactive communication with drawing is
enabled with the PICK qualifier which allows
users to formulate queries.
SELECT name
FROM city
WHERE geometry=PICK
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Ambiguities in the selection may exist
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User will be offered the possible choices and then
asked to identify the target
GPL
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The concept of the display environment
The query result is rendered according the
display description
Offers instructions to SET or CANCEL a
graphic specification (can be qualified with
PERMANENT)
SET MODE highlight
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With IMMEDIATELY to update the current
display prior to asking the next query
SET IMMEDIATELY COLOR red
Display Mode
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Six display mode
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Conventional alphanumeric display
NEW: starting a new drawing ex. SET MODE new;
OVERLAY: adding the result onto a existing drawing
REMOVE: erasing the result from a drawing
INTERSECT: determining the common objects on the
display and in the query result
HIGHLIGHT: emphasizing the result
Non-spatial attributes in the SELECT clause will
be represented as label
Visual Variables
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Graphic attributes can be specified for either
an entire spatial relation or instances of spatial
relations
SET LEGEND
COLOR black
PATTERN dashed
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User can check the current setting by “looking
at the legend”
This part of GPL depends upon the user’s
hardware
Scale and Window
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The scale of the graphical presentation can be
described with the command SET SCALE
SET SCALE n (representing a scale factor of 1:n)
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The window describing the area to be displayed
can be described with SET WINDOW
The window can be determined by
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two pairs of coordinates
the minimal bounding rectangle from the result
SET WINDOW
SELECT geometry
FROM road
WHERE town.name = “Orono”;
Context
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The interpretation of graphical presentation is
extremely depend on the context and
environment
GPL allows the user to define spatial relation
with SET CONTEXT as graphical context
which is during query processing merged with
the actual user query
SET CONTEXT
FOR road.geometry
SELECT building.geometry, road.name
FROM road.parcel, building;
Content
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A needed control mechanism with which user
may examine the content of a drawing
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The content is the logical combination of
queries the result of which were combined
with OVERLAY and REMOVE
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Content is only observable (cannot SET or
MODIFY)
SHOW Content
Conclusion
Spatial SQL +GPL
Spatial ADT
+
Graphical Presentation
+
Result Combination
+
Display of context
+
Content Examination
+
Selection by Pointing
+
Display manipulation
+
Legend
+
Labels
+
Selection of Map Scale
+
Area of Interest
+
Appendix
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Conventional Spatial Database
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Geodetic DataBlade Module
http://examples.informix.com/frameset.html#top?initial_page=/do
c/case_studies/datablade/geo/geoLOC.html
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NCR Teradata Object Relational Database (TOR)
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Oracle Spatial
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ESRI Spatial Database Engine (SDE)
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systems like Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase, IBM DB2, and
Informix