5. pl/pgsql function

Other kind of functions are pl/pgsql. As the applications requirements become more complex, using wrappers of previously defined functions becomes necessary for clarity.

5.1. Requirements for routing from A to B

Chapter problem:

• Create a function wrk_fromAtoB that allows routing from 2 geometries.

• The function takes latitude/longitude points as input parameters.

• Returns a route that includes a geometry so that if can be displayed, for example, in QGIS.

• Will also return some other attributes.

The detailed description:

Input parameters

Column	type	Description
edges_subset	REGCLASS	Edge table name identifier.
lat1	NUMERIC	The latitude of the departure point.
lon1	NUMERIC	The longitude of the departure point.
lat2	NUMERIC	The latitude of the destination point.
lon2	NUMERIC	The longitude of the destination point.
do_debug	BOOLEAN	Flag to create a WARNING with the query that is been executed

Output columns

Column	Description
seq	For ordering purposes.
gid	The edge identifier that can be used to JOIN the results to the ways table.
name	The street name.
azimuth	Between start and end node of an edge.
length	In meters.
minutes	Minutes taken to traverse the segment.
route_geom	The road geometry with corrected directionality.

For this chapter, the following points will be used for testing.

• (lat,lon) = (43.784, 11.2384)

• (lat,lon) = (43.778, 11.2492)

Saving this information on a table:

• The X value of a geometry is the longitude.

• The Y value of a geometry is the latitude.

• Natural language to form the point is (latitude, longitude).

• For geometry processing to form the point is (longitude, latitude).

• lines 4 and 6 show the inverse order of the (lat,lon) pairs.

SELECT *
INTO points
FROM (
  SELECT 1 AS gid, ST_SetSRID(ST_Point(11.2384, 43.784), 4326) AS geom
  UNION
  SELECT 2, ST_SetSRID(ST_Point(11.2492, 43.778), 4326)
  ) AS info;

5.2. The Vertex Table

Graphs have a set of edges and a set of vertices associated to it.

osm2pgrouting provides the ways_vertices_pgr table which is associated with the ways table.

When a subset of edges is used like in vehicle_net or in taxi_net, the set of vertices associated to each one must be used in order to, for example, locate the nearest vertex to a lat/lon location.

5.2.1. Exercise 1: Number of vertices

Problem

• Calculate the number of vertices in a graph.

Depending on the graph calculate the number of vertices of:

• ways

• vehicle_net

• taxi_net

• walk_net

Solution

• For ways:

  • osm2pgrouting automatically created the ways_vertices_pgr table that contains all the vertices in ways table.

  • Using aggregate function count. (line 1)

  • Count all the rows of ways_vertices_pgr table. (line 2)

  SELECT count(*)
  FROM ways_vertices_pgr;
  

• For vehicle_net:

  • Extract the vertices identifiers of the source column. (line 3)

  • Extract the vertices identifiers of the target column. (line 8)

  • UNION both results (line 6)

  SELECT count(*)
  FROM (
    SELECT source
    FROM vehicle_net
  
    UNION
  
    SELECT target
    FROM vehicle_net
  ) AS id_list;
  

• For taxi_net:

  • Similar solution as in previous query but on taxi_net. (lines 4 and 9)

  SELECT count(*)
  FROM (
    SELECT source
    FROM taxi_net
  
    UNION
  
    SELECT target
    FROM taxi_net
  ) AS id_list;
  

• For walk_net:

  • Similar solution as in previous query but on walk_net. (lines 4 and 9)

  SELECT count(*)
  FROM (
    SELECT source
    FROM walk_net
  
    UNION
  
    SELECT target
    FROM walk_net
  ) AS id_list;
  

Exercise: 1 (Chapter: pl/pgsql)

5.2.2. Exercise 2: Vertices on a table

Problem

• Create a vertices table.

• Follow the suffix naming _vertices_pgr.

Depending on the graph create a vertices table of:

• ways

• vehicle_net

• taxi_net

• walk_net

The vertices table should contain:

Column	Description
osm_id	OSM Identifier of the vertex.
the_geom	The geometry of the vertex.

Solution

• For ways:

  • osm2pgrouting automatically created the ways_vertices_pgr table that contains all the vertices in ways table.

  • The vertices are already on a table.

  • The table suffix follows is as requested.

  • There is no need to create a table.

  • The source and target columns are in terms of id column of ways_vertices_pgr

• For vehicle_net:

  • Using the query id_list from Exercise 1: Number of vertices. (not highlighted lines 2 to 8)

  • JOIN with ways_vertices_pgr that has the OSM identifier and the geometry information. (line 13)

  • Extract the osm_id and the_geom. (line 10)

  • Save in table vehicle_net_vertices_pgr. (line 11)

  • The source and target columns values have the osm_id therefore the id column of vehicle_net_vertices_pgr must also have the osm_id values

  WITH id_list AS (
    SELECT source AS id
    FROM vehicle_net
  
    UNION
  
    SELECT target
    FROM vehicle_net)
  
  SELECT id_list.id, the_geom
  INTO vehicle_net_vertices_pgr
  FROM id_list
  JOIN ways_vertices_pgr ON (id_list.id = osm_id);
  

• For taxi_net:

  • Similar solution as in previous query but on taxi_net. (lines 3, 8 and 11)

  
  WITH id_list AS (
    SELECT source AS id
    FROM taxi_net
  
    UNION
  
    SELECT target
    FROM taxi_net)
  
  SELECT id_list.id, the_geom
  INTO taxi_net_vertices_pgr
  FROM id_list
  JOIN ways_vertices_pgr ON (id_list.id = osm_id);
  
  

• For walk_net:

  • Similar solution as in previous query but on taxi_net. (lines 3, 8 and 11)

  
  WITH id_list AS (
    SELECT source AS id
    FROM walk_net
  
    UNION
  
    SELECT target
    FROM walk_net)
  
  SELECT id_list.id, the_geom
  INTO walk_net_vertices_pgr
  FROM id_list
  JOIN ways_vertices_pgr ON (id_list.id = osm_id);
  
  

Exercise: 2 (Chapter: pl/pgsql)

5.2.3. Exercise 3: Nearest Vertex

Problem

• Calculate the OSM identifier of the nearest vertex to a point.

In particular use the following (lat,lon) value: (43.784, 11.2384).

• calculate the nearest OSM identifier of the vertex to:

  • vehicle_net_vertices_pgr

  • taxi_net_vertices_pgr

  • walk_net_vertices_pgr

Note

The ways and the ways_vertices_pgr tables are not used on the final applications

The net views and vertices tables have been prepared in such a way that the AS statement is not needed any more on a pgRouting function.

Solution

• For ways_vertices_pgr:

  • Get the osm_id. (line 1)

  • Using the distance operator <-> to order by distance. (line 3)

  • Get only the first row, to obtain the nearest OSM identifier of the vertex. (line 4)

SELECT osm_id
FROM ways_vertices_pgr
ORDER BY the_geom <-> ST_SetSRID(ST_Point(11.2384, 43.784), 4326)
LIMIT 1;

• For vehicle_net_vertices_pgr:

  • Similar solution as in previous query but:

    • Extracting the id columns. (line 1)

    • On vehicle_net_vertices_pgr. (line 2)

SELECT id
FROM vehicle_net_vertices_pgr
ORDER BY the_geom <-> ST_SetSRID(ST_Point(11.2384, 43.784), 4326)
LIMIT 1;

• For taxi_net_vertices_pgr:

  • Similar solution as in previous query but on taxi_net_vertices_pgr. (line 2)

SELECT id
FROM taxi_net_vertices_pgr
ORDER BY the_geom <-> ST_SetSRID(ST_Point(11.2384, 43.784), 4326)
LIMIT 1;

• For walk_net_vertices_pgr:

  • Similar solution as in previous query but on walk_net_vertices_pgr. (line 2)

SELECT id
FROM walk_net_vertices_pgr
ORDER BY the_geom <-> ST_SetSRID(ST_Point(11.2384, 43.784), 4326)
LIMIT 1;

Exercise: 3 (Chapter: pl/pgsql)

5.2.4. Exercise 4: Nearest vertex function

Problem

When operations look similar for different tables, a function can be created.

• Create a function that calculates the OSM identifier of the nearest vertex to a point.

• Function name: wrk_NearestOSM.

• Needs to work only for the final application views and table.

The input parameters:

Column	type	Description
vertex_table	REGCLASS	Table name identifier.
lat	NUMERIC	The latitude of a point.
lon	NUMERIC	The longitude of a point.

The output:

type	Description
BIGINT	the OSM identifier that is nearest to (lat,lon).

Solution

• The function returns only one value. (line 5)

• Using format to build the query. (line 10)

  • The structure of the query is similar to Exercise 3: Nearest Vertex solutions. (lines 12 to 16)

  • %1$I for the table name identifier. (line 13)

  • %2$s and %3$s for the latitude and longitude.

    • The point is formed with (lon/lat) (%3$s, %2$s). (line 15)

  • The additional parameters of function format, are the parameters of the function we are creating. (line 19)

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION wrk_NearestOSM(
  IN vertex_table REGCLASS,
  IN lat NUMERIC,
  IN lon NUMERIC)
RETURNS BIGINT AS
$BODY$
DECLARE result BIGINT;
BEGIN

  EXECUTE format(
    $$
      SELECT id
      FROM %1$I
      ORDER BY the_geom <-> ST_SetSRID(
                              ST_Point(%3$s, %2$s),
                              4326)
      LIMIT 1
    $$,
    vertex_table, lat, lon)
  INTO result;
  RETURN result;

END
$BODY$
LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';

Exercise: 4 (Chapter: pl/pgsql)

5.2.5. Exercise 5: Test nearest vertex function

Problem

• Test the wrk_NearestOSM function.

In particular use the following (lat,lon) values: (43.784, 11.2384).

• The point is the same as in Exercise 3: Nearest Vertex problem.

  • Verify the results are the same.

• calculate the nearest OSM identifier of the vertex to:

  • ways_vertices_pgr

  • vehicle_net_vertices_pgr

  • taxi_net_vertices_pgr

  • walk_net_vertices_pgr

Solution

• For ways_vertices_pgr:

  • Use the function with ways_vertices_pgr as the vertex_table parameter. (line 2)

  • Pass the (lat,lon) values as second and third parameters. (line 3)

  • Using the function on the original data does not return the OSM identifier.

    The value stored in id column is not the OSM identifier.

  SELECT wrk_NearestOSM(
    'ways_vertices_pgr',
    43.784, 11.2384);
  

• For vehicles_net_vertices_pgr:

  • Similar solution as in previous query but on vehicles_net_vertices_pgr. (lines 2)

  SELECT wrk_NearestOSM(
    'vehicle_net_vertices_pgr',
    43.784, 11.2384);
  

• For taxi_net_vertices_pgr:

  • Similar solution as in previous query but on taxi_net_vertices_pgr. (lines 2)

  SELECT wrk_NearestOSM(
    'taxi_net_vertices_pgr',
    43.784, 11.2384);
  

• For walk_net_vertices_pgr:

  • Similar solution as in previous query but on walk_net_vertices_pgr. (lines 2)

  SELECT wrk_NearestOSM(
    'walk_net_vertices_pgr',
    43.784, 11.2384);
  

Exercise: 5 (Chapter: pl/pgsql)

5.3. wrk_fromAtoB function

In this section, creation and testing the requiered function will be tackled.

5.3.1. Exercise 6: Creating the main function

Problem

• Create the function wrk_fromAtoB.

• Follow the description given at Requirements for routing from A to B.

• Use specialized functions already created wrk_dijkstra and wrk_NearestOSM.

  • wrk_NearestOSM created on Exercise 4: Nearest vertex function.

    • It receives the point in natural language format.

    • Obtains the OSM identifier needed by wrk_dijkstra.

  • wrk_dijkstra created on Exercise 10: Function for an application.

Solution

The function’s signature:

• The input parameters highlited on lines 2 to 5.

• The output columns are not higlighted on lines 7 to 13.

• The function returns a set of values. (line 15)

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION wrk_fromAtoB(
  IN edges_subset REGCLASS,
  IN lat1 NUMERIC, IN lon1 NUMERIC,
  IN lat2 NUMERIC, IN lon2 NUMERIC,
  IN do_debug BOOLEAN DEFAULT false,

  OUT seq INTEGER,
  OUT id BIGINT,
  OUT seconds FLOAT,
  OUT name TEXT,
  OUT length_m FLOAT,
  OUT route_readable TEXT,
  OUT route_geom geometry,
  OUT azimuth FLOAT
)
RETURNS SETOF record AS

The function’s body:

• Call to the function wrk_dijkstra (line 8)

  • wrk_dijkstra obtains many of the result values

  • Parameters are passed on lines 9 to 13.

  • The edges_subset:

    • First parameters of the format function is the table name. (line 16)

    • Is passed as %1$I. (line 9)

  • For the departure point:

    • wrk_NearestOSM is used to find the OSM identifier. (line 10)

      • The vertices table name is formed with %1$I_vertices_pgr. (line 11)

      • Second and third parameters of the format function are %2$s, %3$s. (line 17)

      • The latitude and longitude are given in natural language form. (line 12)

  • For the destination point:

    • Similar query is constructed but with the destination information. (line 13)

    • Fourth and fifth parameters of the format function. (line 18)

• To get the constructed query in form of a warning:

  • The WARNING will be issued only when do_debug is true. (lines 20 to 22)

$BODY$
DECLARE
final_query TEXT;
BEGIN
  final_query := format(
    $$
      SELECT *
      FROM wrk_dijkstra(
        '%1$I',
        (SELECT wrk_NearestOSM(
            '%1$I_vertices_pgr',
            %2$s, %3$s)),
        (SELECT wrk_NearestOSM('%1$I_vertices_pgr', %4$s, %5$s))
      )
    $$,
    edges_subset,
    lat1,lon1,
    lat2,lon2);

    IF do_debug THEN
      RAISE WARNING '%', final_query;
    END IF;
    RETURN QUERY EXECUTE final_query;
END;
$BODY$
LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';

Exercise: 6 (Chapter: pl/pgsql)

5.3.2. Exercise 7: Using the main function

Problem

Use wrk_fromAtoB

• Departure point is: (lat,lon) = (43.784, 11.2384)

• Destination point is: (lat,lon) = (43.778, 11.2492)

• For vehicle_net:

  • Use with default value of do_debug.

• For taxi_net:

  • Use with do_debug set to true.

• For walk_net:

  • Use with default value of do_debug.

  • Store results on a table.

  • Show the table contents.

Note

The function is not meant to be used with ways

Solution

• For vehicle_net:

  • The first parameter is the table name. (line 2)

  • The next two parameters are the latitude and longitude of the departure point. (line 3)

  • The next two parameters are the latitude and longitude of the destination point. (line 4)

  SELECT *  FROM wrk_fromAtoB(
    'vehicle_net',
    43.784, 11.2384,
    43.778, 11.2492);
  

• For taxi_net:

  • Similar to previous solution, but with taxi_net (line 2)

  • Adding true to get the query that is executed. (line 5)

  SELECT *  FROM wrk_fromAtoB(
    'taxi_net',
    43.784, 11.2384,
    43.778, 11.2492,
    true);
  

• For walk_net:

  • Similar to a previous solution, but with ways (line 4)

  • Store results on a table. (line 2)

  • Show the table contents using a SELECT clause (lines 8 and 9).

  SELECT *
  INTO example
  FROM wrk_fromAtoB(
    'walk_net',
    43.784, 11.2384,
    43.778, 11.2492);
  
  SELECT *
  FROM example;
  

Exercise: 7 (Chapter: pl/pgsql)