Re: Points within polygons

[Mike McCutcheon]

I might be wrong, but I have concluded that the distance() function in MySQL 5.1.35 can't handle a comparison of a point with a polygon which straddles (is positioned both sides of) the antimeridian (the 180th meridian).

My evidence comes from using distance() to measure whether the distance between a point and a polygon is zero or not and therefore identify whether that point is inside or on the polygon boundary. distance() can't tell me reliably whether a point is in my Oceania region (from Asia to the Americas), but when I split Oceania into two polygons along the antimeridian, distance() reliably tells me whether the point is in Oceania West or Oceania East. distance() seems to measure the wrong way around the world if the poly straddles the antimeridian.

I don't think distance() has a problem with the Greenwich meridian.

I haven't tested whether distance() has a problem comparing a point with a line which crosses the antimeridian.

Any thoughts please ? I apologize if I have done something wrong and am therefore inadvertently scaremongering.