Searching based on a user’s location is a feature of many websites and applications. This type of search adds relevancy and value to a website, especially when these results include the distance from a point or within a polygon, and are combined with fast text searches. In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at […]

MySQL before version 5.7 had less than stellar Geographic Information Systems (GIS) support. In version 5.7, the Boost.Geometry two dimensional or 2D libraries were added. The past several years have seen explosive growth in GIS demand, and the pre 5.7 software was not up to what the customer base was demanding. So the decision was made to switch to the Boost.Geometry libraries. This refactoring was a significant investment for the engineering team to move to a third party library and they have also become contributors to the Boost.Geometry project. Also, with 8.0 came the three dimensional or 3D libraries, but how do you use these features?