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16.3.2 Well-Known Binary (WKB) Format »
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16.3.1. Well-Known Text (WKT) Format

The Well-Known Text (WKT) representation of Geometry is designed to exchange geometry data in ASCII form.

Examples of WKT representations of geometry objects:

  • A Point: 

    POINT(15 20)

    Note that point coordinates are specified with no separating comma.

  • A LineString with four points: 

    LINESTRING(0 0, 10 10, 20 25, 50 60)

    Note that point coordinate pairs are separated by commas.

  • A Polygon with one exterior ring and one interior ring: 

    POLYGON((0 0,10 0,10 10,0 10,0 0),(5 5,7 5,7 7,5 7, 5 5))

  • A MultiPoint with three Point values: 

    MULTIPOINT(0 0, 20 20, 60 60)

  • A MultiLineString with two LineString values: 

    MULTILINESTRING((10 10, 20 20), (15 15, 30 15))

  • A MultiPolygon with two Polygon values: 

    MULTIPOLYGON(((0 0,10 0,10 10,0 10,0 0)),((5 5,7 5,7 7,5 7, 5 5)))

  • A GeometryCollection consisting of two Point values and one LineString: 

    GEOMETRYCOLLECTION(POINT(10 10), POINT(30 30), LINESTRING(15 15, 20 20))

A Backus-Naur grammar that specifies the formal production rules for writing WKT values can be found in the OpenGIS specification document referenced near the beginning of this chapter.