[postgis-users] ST_Force3D and null/unknown altitude

[Denis Rouzaud]

Hi Hugo,

Thanks for the feedback.


On 03/17/2016 08:26 AM, Hugo Mercier wrote:
> Hi Denis,
>
> On 07/12/2015 15:30, Denis Rouzaud wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> If I understand correctly, Postgis does not handle NULL altitude in 3D
>> geomtries.
> That's what I understand as well.
>
>> Hence, when using ST_Force3D, it sets the altitude to 0, which I find a
>> bit inconvenient (and dangerous).
> Could you explain why ?
> The name of ST_Force3D is pretty clear for me: you are forcing the
> geometry to change its type from 2D to 3D. And yes, a 3D geometry is
> defined by its altitude. So if you know a geometry should be 3D but do
> not know its altitude, it's not yet a real 3D object :)
Well forcing 3d is exactly the point, to be sure that everything you get
is in 3d including 2d objects.
I find this dangerous because you'll be mixing unknown altitudes with 0
altitudes, and hence won't be able to distinguish them apart.

>
>> 1. Is there any ongoing or potential development towards handling null
>> altitude in geometries or this is not feasible?
>>
>> 2. Do you have any good workaround? Like using -9999 and creating your
>> own ST_Force3D?
> My opinion is that it should be handled on the side of the application.
> If you really want to store not-fully-defined 3D objects with postgis,
> then yes you can use a special value that your application knows how to
> deal with.

My preferred approach would be that Postgis handle null altitudes natively.

If not possible, I think a native Postgis function ST_Force3D(geom,
null_value) would help.

Anyway, doing it myself is not a big deal, but I think I'm not the only
one dealing with this issue.


Cheers,
Denis

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