Book Image

Mastering PostGIS

By : Dominik Mikiewicz, Michal Mackiewicz , Tomasz Nycz
Book Image

Mastering PostGIS

By: Dominik Mikiewicz, Michal Mackiewicz , Tomasz Nycz

Overview of this book

PostGIS is open source extension onf PostgreSQL object-relational database system that allows GIS objects to be stored and allows querying for information and location services. The aim of this book is to help you master the functionalities offered by PostGIS- from data creation, analysis and output, to ETL and live edits. The book begins with an overview of the key concepts related to spatial database systems and how it applies to Spatial RMDS. You will learn to load different formats into your Postgres instance, investigate the spatial nature of your raster data, and finally export it using built-in functionalities or 3th party tools for backup or representational purposes. Through the course of this book, you will be presented with many examples on how to interact with the database using JavaScript and Node.js. Sample web-based applications interacting with backend PostGIS will also be presented throughout the book, so you can get comfortable with the modern ways of consuming and modifying your spatial data.
Table of Contents (9 chapters)

Exporting data using \COPY in psql


When we were importing data, we used the psql \COPY FROM command to copy data from a file to a table. This time, we'll do it the other way round - from a table to a file - using the \COPY TO command.

\COPY TO can not only copy a full table, but also the results of a SELECT query, and that means we can actually output filtered sub datasets of the source tables.

Similarly to the method we used to import, we can execute \COPY or COPY in different scenarios: We'll use psql in interactive and non-interactive mode, and we'll also do the very same thing in PgAdmin.

Note

It is worth remembering that COPY can only read/write files that can be accessed by an instance of the server, usually files that reside on the same machine as the database server.

For detailed information on \COPY syntax and parameters, type:

\h copy

Exporting data in psql interactively

In order to export the data in interactive mode, we first need to connect to the database using psql:

psql -h localhost...