SQL Geometry find all points in a radius

Question

I am fluent in SQL but new to using the SQL Geometry features. I have what is probably a very basic problem to solve, but I haven't found any good resources online that explain how to use geometry objects. (Technet is a lousy way to learn new things...)

I have a collection of 2d points on a Cartesian plane, and I am trying to find all points that are within a collection of radii.

I created and populated a table using syntax like:

Update [Things] set [Location] = geometry::Point(@X, @Y, 0)

(@X,@Y are just the x and y values, 0 is an arbitrary number shared by all objects that allows set filtering if I understand correctly)

Here is where I go off the rails...Do I try to construct some sort of polygon collection and query using that, or is there some simple way of checking for intersection of multiple radii without building a bunch of circular polygons?

Addendum: If nobody has the answer to the multiple radii question, what is the single radius solution?

UPDATE

Here are some examples I have worked up, using an imaginary star database where stars are stored on a x-y grid as points:

Selects all points in a box:

DECLARE @polygon geometry = geometry::STGeomFromText('POLYGON((' 
+ CAST(@MinX AS VARCHAR(10)) + ' '  + CAST(@MinY AS VARCHAR(10)) + ',' 
+ CAST(@MaxX AS VARCHAR(10)) + ' '  + CAST(@MinY AS VARCHAR(10)) + ', ' 
+ CAST(@MaxX AS VARCHAR(10)) + ' '  + CAST(@MaxY AS VARCHAR(10)) + ',' 
+ CAST(@MinX AS VARCHAR(10)) + ' '  + CAST(@MaxY AS VARCHAR(10)) + ',' 
+ CAST(@MinX AS VARCHAR(10)) + ' '  + CAST(@MinY AS VARCHAR(10)) + '))', 0);

SELECT  [Star].[Name]           AS [StarName],
        [Star].[StarTypeId]     AS [StarTypeId],        
FROM    [Star]
WHERE   @polygon.STContains([Star].[Location]) = 1

using this as a pattern, you can do all sorts of interesting things, such as defining multiple polygons:

WHERE   @polygon1.STContains([Star].[Location]) = 1
OR @polygon2.STContains([Star].[Location]) = 1
OR @polygon3.STContains([Star].[Location]) = 1

Or checking distance:

WHERE [Star].[Location].STDistance(@polygon1) < @SomeDistance 

Sample insert statement

INSERT [Star]
(
    [Name],
    [StarTypeId],
    [Location],
)
VALUES
(
    @Name,
    @StarTypeId,
    GEOMETRY::Point(@LocationX, @LocationY, 0),
)

Answer 1

This is an incredibly late answer, but perhaps I can shed some light on a solution. The "set" number you refer to is a Spatial Reference Indentifier or SRID. For lat/long calculations you should consider setting this to 4326, which will ensure metres are used as a unit of measurement. You should also consider switching to SqlGeography rather than SqlGeometry, but we'll continue with SqlGeometry for now. To bulk set the SRID, you can update your table as follows:

UPDATE [YourTable] SET [SpatialColumn] = GEOMETRY.STPointFromText([SpatialColumn].STAsText(), 4326);

For a single radius, you need to create a radii as a spatial object. For example:

DECLARE @radiusInMeters FLOAT = 1000; -- Set to a number in meters
DECLARE @radius GEOMETRY = GEOMETRY::Point(@x, @y, 4326).STBuffer(@radiusInMeters);

STBuffer() takes the spatial point and creates a circle (now a Polygon type) from it. You can then query your data set as follows:

SELECT * FROM [YourTable] WHERE [SpatialColumn].STIntersects(@radius);

The above will now use any Spatial Index you have created on the [SpatialColumn] in its query plan.

There is also a simpler option which will work (and still use a spatial index). The STDistance method allows you to do the following:

DECLARE @radius GEOMETRY = GEOMETRY::Point(@x, @y, 4326);
DECLARE @distance FLOAT = 1000; -- A distance in metres   
SELECT * FROM [YourTable] WHERE [SpatialColumn].STDistance(@radius) <= @distance;

Lastly, working with a collection of radii. You have a few options. The first is to run the above for each radii in turn, but I would consider the following to do it as one:

DECLARE #radiiCollection TABLE
(
    [RadiusInMetres] FLOAT,
    [Radius] GEOMETRY
)

INSERT INTO #radiiCollection ([RadiusInMetres], [Radius]) VALUES (1000, GEOMETRY::Point(@xValue, @yValue, 4326).STBuffer(1000));
-- Repeat for other radii

SELECT
    X.[Id],
    MIN(R.[RadiusInMetres]) AS [WithinRadiusDistance]
FROM
    [YourTable] X
    JOIN
    #radiiCollection RC ON RC.[Radius].STIntersects(X.[SpatialColumn])
GROUP BY
    X.[IdColumn],
    R.[RadiusInMetres]

DROP TABLE @radiiCollection;

The final above has not been tested, but I'm 99% sure it's just about there with a small amount of tweaking being a possibility. The ideal of taking the min radius distance in the select is that if the multiple radii stem from a single location, if a point is within the first radius, it will naturally be within all of the others. You'll therefore duplicate the record, but by grouping and then selecting the min, you get only one (and the closest).

Hope it helps, albeit 4 weeks after you asked the question. Sorry I didn't see it sooner, if only there was only one spatial tag for questions!!!!