PostgreSQL point_ops with GiST PostGIS Spatial Index

Question

The 9.0 release notes for PostgreSQL states the following change:

Add point_ops operator class for GiST (Teodor Sigaev)

This feature permits GiST indexing of point columns. The index can be used for several types of queries such as point <@ polygon (point is in polygon). This should make many PostGIS queries faster.

I have a very large table (millions of rows) with a GEOMETRY(POINT,[SRID]) column that I sometimes compare to polygons. Do I need to do anything to enable this when creating the index? Do I have to use the operator they indicate, or would this work with ST_Contains?

(I'm sure the answer is in the docs somewhere, but I can't find it.)

Craig Ringer · Accepted Answer · 2013-06-04 23:52:59Z

5

It's an opclass, so you specify it in the CREATE INDEX command:

CREATE INDEX idx_name ON tablename USING GiST (col_name point_ops);

answered Jun 4, 2013 at 23:52

Craig Ringer

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2 Comments

jpmc26 Over a year ago

Thanks! That helped. I went and read the PostgreSQL documentation on operator classes, but I'm still a bit lost as to how this works with PostGIS. What operators can use indexes created with point_ops? Can ST_Contains (which uses && internally), or do I need to use the <@ operator? Googling about it, this question is the first thing that comes up, so it doesn't look like there's much info out there to be found.

Craig Ringer Over a year ago

@jpmc26 I haven't worked enough with PostGIS... I'd recommend posting on the PostGIS mailing list or pgsql-general. Link to this question if you do.

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