Importing spatial data

Spatial Extender provides services to import spatial data in Shapefile format.

Spatial data in Shapefile format is available from many sources through the internet. For example, you can download national and world-wide data and maps for features such as countries, states, cities, rivers, and more. A set of sample data is included as part of the demo applications in the Spatial Extender installation.

You can import spatial data from files provided by external data sources. These files typically contain data that is applied to maps: street networks, flood plains, earthquake faults, and so on. By using such data in combination with spatial data that you produce, you can augment the spatial information available to you. For example, if a public works department needs to determine what hazards a residential community is vulnerable to, it could use ST_Buffer to define a zone around the community. The public works department could then import data on flood plains and earthquake faults to see which of these problem areas overlap this zone.