Azure / Azure/data-api-builder

[Enh]: Support `Geospatial` data type in MSSQL

Open
#3,219 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
2.x mssql needs discussion
Dominant language
C#
Stars
1.5k
Forks
370
Avg merge
3d 22h
Merged PRs (30d)
9

Description

# Geospatial data types

In SQL Server and Azure SQL Database, geospatial data is represented using the `geometry` and `geography` data types. These types store spatial data such as points, lines, and polygons, and support rich spatial operations like distance, containment, and intersection.

```sql
CREATE TABLE locations (
id INT PRIMARY KEY,
position GEOGRAPHY -- a latitude/longitude point
)
```

* `GEOGRAPHY` is used for Earth-based (ellipsoidal) coordinates (e.g., GPS).
* `GEOMETRY` is used for flat, projected coordinate systems (e.g., CAD/GIS).

## FOR JSON support

When used with `FOR JSON`, spatial columns are **serialized as strings** in SQL Server.

```sql
SELECT id, position FROM locations FOR JSON AUTO;
```

Returns:

```json
[
{
"id": 1,
"position": "POINT(-104.9903 39.7392)"
}
]
```

The output is a well-known text (WKT) representation of the spatial data.

## Inserting geospatial data

```sql
INSERT INTO locations (id, position)
VALUES (
1,
geography::STPointFromText('POINT(-104.9903 39.7392)', 4326)
);
```

* The `STPointFromText` method accepts WKT format and a spatial reference ID (SRID).
* `4326` is the most common SRID, representing GPS coordinates (WGS 84).

## Data API builder behavior

Data API builder (DAB) should treat geospatial columns as **WKT strings** for both reading and writing.

### Query operations

DAB will expose `GEOGRAPHY` or `GEOMETRY` values as WKT strings in REST responses:

```json
{
"value": [
{
"id": 1,
"position": "POINT(-104.9903 39.7392)"
}
]
}
```

### Mutation operations

When creating or updating rows, input should be a WKT string that SQL Server can parse:

```http
POST /locations
Content-Type: application/json

{
"id": 2,
"position": "POINT(-122.4194 37.7749)"
}
```

Internally, DAB should convert this into a call to `geography::STPointFromText(...)` with SRID `4326`.

### Geospatial Considerations

1. DAB must validate or wrap WKT strings using `STGeomFromText` or `STPointFromText`.
2. All values must include a valid SRID, typically `4326` for GPS.
3. DAB does not parse or visualize spatial data—clients are responsible for rendering.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

No implementation files or tests are named. Start by locating DAB's SQL Server type handling and the REST mutation and response paths, then verify how existing database types are represented. Done means GEOGRAPHY and GEOMETRY columns are exposed as WKT strings for reads and accepted for writes, with coverage for the documented SQL Server behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
azure, sql
Domain
api, databases
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.