Spatial Data Standards

SQL Server provides two data types—geometry and geography—designed to work respectively with the planar and geodetic spatial models. Shapes are projected onto spatial models using vector objects, which are collections of points, lines, polygons (closed shapes), and—new in SQL Server 2012—curves and arcs. Both the geometry and geography data types support the three standard formats for consuming spatial data: Well-Known Text (WKT), Well-Known Binary (WKB), and Geography Markup Language (GML).

WKT, WKB, and GML are standards governed by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), an international body of more than 400 companies. Microsoft is an active and highly influential member of the OGC, and SQL Server 2012 supports the OpenGIS ...

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