Union of complex polygons
- by grenade
Given two polygons:
POLYGON((1 0, 1 8, 6 4, 1 0))
POLYGON((4 1, 3 5, 4 9, 9 5, 4 1),(4 5, 5 7, 6 7, 4 4, 4 5))
How can I calculate the union (combined polygon)?
Dave's example uses SQL server to produce the union, but I need to accomplish the same in code. I'm looking for a mathematical formula or code example in any language that exposes the actual math. I am attempting to produce maps that combine countries dynamically into regions. I asked a related question here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2653812/grouping-geographical-shapes