[python-shapely] 18/148: Imported Upstream version 1.2.1

Sebastiaan Couwenberg sebastic at moszumanska.debian.org
Thu Aug 20 17:41:59 UTC 2015


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sebastic pushed a commit to branch master
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commit f0b21987b4d28f745d51be088a18274b1f104cfc
Author: Pietro Battiston <me at pietrobattiston.it>
Date:   Thu Jun 24 16:16:32 2010 +0200

    Imported Upstream version 1.2.1
---
 MANIFEST.in                  |    1 +
 Shapely.egg-info/SOURCES.txt |    1 +
 docs/manual.txt              | 1731 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 1733 insertions(+)

diff --git a/MANIFEST.in b/MANIFEST.in
index c34208b..47f989e 100644
--- a/MANIFEST.in
+++ b/MANIFEST.in
@@ -4,3 +4,4 @@ recursive-exclude debian *
 include CHANGES.txt CREDITS.txt LICENSE.txt README.txt
 recursive-include shapely/tests *.py *.txt
 recursive-include shapely/examples *.py
+recursive-include docs manual.txt
diff --git a/Shapely.egg-info/SOURCES.txt b/Shapely.egg-info/SOURCES.txt
index 01c238d..f3483a1 100644
--- a/Shapely.egg-info/SOURCES.txt
+++ b/Shapely.egg-info/SOURCES.txt
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ Shapely.egg-info/PKG-INFO
 Shapely.egg-info/SOURCES.txt
 Shapely.egg-info/dependency_links.txt
 Shapely.egg-info/top_level.txt
+docs/manual.txt
 examples/dissolve.py
 examples/intersect.py
 shapely/__init__.py
diff --git a/docs/manual.txt b/docs/manual.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de2ec5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/manual.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1731 @@
+=====================================
+The Shapely 1.2 User Manual (Preview)
+=====================================
+
+:Author: Sean Gillies, <sean.gillies at gmail.com>
+:Revision: 1.2
+:Date: 24 May 2010
+:Copyright: 
+  This work is licensed under a `Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
+  United States License`__.
+
+.. __: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/
+
+:Abstract: 
+  This document explains how to use the Shapely Python package for
+  computational geometry.
+
+.. sectnum::
+
+.. _intro:
+
+Introduction
+============
+
+Deterministic spatial analysis is an important component of computational
+approaches to problems in agriculture, ecology, epidemiology, sociology, and
+many other fields. What is the surveyed perimeter/area ratio of these patches
+of animal habitat? Which properties in this town intersect with the 50-year
+flood contour from this new flooding model? What are the extents of findspots
+for ancient ceramic wares with maker's marks "A" and "B", and where do the
+extents overlap? What's the path from home to office that best skirts
+identified zones of location based spam? These are just a few of the possible
+questions addressable using non-statistical spatial analysis, and more
+specifically, computational geometry.
+
+Shapely is a Python package for set-theoretic analysis and manipulation of
+planar features using (via Python's :mod:`ctypes` module) functions from the
+well known and widely deployed GEOS_ library. GEOS, a port of the `Java
+Topology Suite`_ (JTS), is the geometry engine of the PostGIS_ spatial
+extension for the PostgreSQL RDBMS. The designs of JTS and GEOS are largely
+guided by the `Open Geospatial Consortium`_'s Simple Features Access
+Specification [1]_ and Shapely adheres mainly to the same set of standard
+classes and operations. Shapely is thereby deeply rooted in the conventions of
+the geographic information systems (GIS) world, but aspires to be equally
+useful to programmers working on non-conventional problems.
+
+The first premise of Shapely is that Python programmers should be able to
+perform PostGIS type geometry operations outside of an RDBMS. Not all
+geographic data originate or reside in a RDBMS or are best processed using SQL.
+We can load data into a spatial RDBMS to do work, but if there's no mandate to
+manage (the "M" in "RDBMS") the data over time in the database we're using the
+wrong tool for the job. The second premise is that the persistence,
+serialization, and map projection of features are significant, but orthogonal
+problems. You may not need a hundred GIS format readers and writers or the
+multitude of State Plane projections, and Shapely doesn't burden you with them.
+The third premise is that Python idioms trump GIS (or Java, in this case, since
+the GEOS library is derived from JTS, a Java project) idioms. 
+
+If you enjoy and profit from Python idioms, appreciate packages that do one
+thing well, and agree that a spatially enabled RDBMS is often enough the wrong
+tool for your computational geometry job, Shapely might be for you.
+
+.. _intro-spatial-data-model:
+
+Spatial Data Model
+------------------
+
+The fundamental types of geometric objects implemented by Shapely are points,
+curves, and surfaces. Each is associated with three sets of (possibly infinite)
+points in the plane. The `interior`, `boundary`, and `exterior` sets of a
+feature are mutually exclusive and their union coincides with the entire plane
+[2]_.
+
+* A `Point` has an `interior` set of exactly one point, a `boundary` set of
+  exactly no points, and an `exterior` set of all other points. A `Point` has
+  a topological dimension of 0.
+
+* A `Curve` has an `interior` set consisting of the infinitely many points
+  along its length (imagine a `Point` dragged in space), a `boundary` set
+  consisting of its two end points, and an `exterior` set of all other points.
+  A `Curve` has a topological dimension of 1. 
+
+* A `Surface` has an `interior` set consisting of the infinitely many points
+  within (imagine a `Curve` dragged in space to cover an area), a `boundary`
+  set consisting of one or more `Curves`, and an `exterior` set of all other
+  points including those within holes that might exist in the surface. A
+  `Surface` has a topological dimension of 2.
+
+That may seem a bit esoteric, but will help clarify the meanings of Shapely's
+spatial predicates, and it's as deep into theory as this manual will go.
+Consequences of point-set theory, including some that manifest themselves as
+"gotchas", for different classes will be discussed later in this manual.
+
+The point type is implemented by a `Point` class; curve by the `LineString` and
+`LinearRing` classes; and surface by a `Polygon` class. Shapely implements no
+smooth (`i.e.` having continuous tangents) curves. All curves must be
+approximated by linear splines. All rounded patches must be approximated by
+regions bounded by linear splines.
+
+Collections of points are implemented by a `MultiPoint` class, collections of
+curves by a `MultiLineString` class, and collections of surfaces by a
+`MultiPolygon` class. These collections aren't computationally significant, but
+are useful for modeling certain kinds of features. A Y-shaped line feature, for
+example, is well modeled as a whole by a `MultiLineString`.
+
+The standard data model has additional constraints specific to certain types
+of geometric objects that will be discussed in following sections of this
+manual.
+
+See also http://www.vividsolutions.com/jts/discussion.htm#spatialDataModel
+for more illustrations of this data model.
+
+.. _intro-relationships:
+
+Relationships
+-------------
+
+The spatial data model is accompanied by a group of natural language
+relationships between geometric objects – `contains`, `intersects`, `overlaps`,
+`touches`, etc – and a theoretical framework for understanding them using the
+3x3 matrix of the mutual intersections of their component point sets [2]_: the
+DE-9IM. A comprehensive review of the relationships in terms of the DE-9IM is
+found in [4]_ and will not be reiterated in this manual.
+
+.. _intro-operations:
+
+Operations
+----------
+
+Following the JTS technical specs [5]_, this manual will make a distinction
+between constructive (`buffer`, `convex hull`) and set-theoretic operations
+(`intersection`, `union`, etc). The individual operations will be fully
+described in a following section of the manual.
+
+.. _intro-coordinate-systems:
+
+Coordinate Systems
+------------------
+
+Even though the Earth is not flat – and for that matter not exactly spherical –
+there are many analytic problems that can be approached by transforming Earth
+features to a Cartesian plane, applying tried and true algorithms, and then
+transforming the results back to geographic coordinates.  This practice is as
+old as the tradition of accurate paper maps.
+
+Shapely does not support coordinate system transformations. All operations on
+two or more features presume that the features exist in the same Cartesian
+plane.
+
+.. _objects:
+
+Geometric Objects
+=================
+
+Geometric objects are created in the typical Python fashion, using the classes
+themselves as instance factories. A few of their intrinsic properties will be
+discussed in this sections, others in the following sections on operations and
+serializations. 
+
+Instances of `Point`, `LineString`, and `LinearRing` have as their most
+important attribute a finite sequence of coordinates that determines their
+interior, boundary, and exterior point sets. A line string can be determined by
+as few as 2 points, but contains an infinite number of points. Coordinate
+sequences are immutable. Their parent features are mutable in that they can be
+assigned new coordinate sequences. A third `z` coordinate value may be used
+when constructing instances, but has no effect on geometric analysis.  All
+operations are performed in the `x-y` plane.
+
+In all constructors, numeric values are converted to type ``float``. In other
+words, ``Point(0, 0)`` and ``Point(0.0, 0.0)`` produce geometrically equivalent
+instances. Shapely does not check the topological simplicity or validity of
+instances when they are constructed as the cost is unwarranted in most cases.
+Validating factories are trivially implemented, using the :attr:`is_valid`
+predicate, by users that require them.
+
+General Attributes and Methods
+------------------------------
+
+.. attribute:: object.area
+
+  Returns the area (``float``) of the object.
+
+.. attribute:: object.bounds
+
+  Returns a ``(minx, miny, maxx, maxy)`` tuple (``float`` values) that bounds
+  the object.
+
+.. attribute:: object.length
+
+  Returns the length (``float``) of the object.
+
+.. attribute:: object.geom_type
+
+  Returns a string specifying the `Geometry Type` of the object in accordance
+  with [1]_.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> print Point(0, 0).geom_type
+  Point
+
+.. method:: object.distance(other)
+
+  Returns the minimum distance (``float``) to the `other` geometric object.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> Point(0,0).distance(Point(1,1))
+  1.4142135623730951
+
+.. _points:
+
+Points
+------
+
+.. class:: Point(coordinates)
+
+  The `Point` constructor takes positional coordinate values or point tuple
+  parameters.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> from shapely.geometry import Point
+  >>> point = Point(0.0, 0.0)
+  >>> q = Point((0.0, 0.0))
+
+A `Point` has zero area and zero length.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> point.area
+  0.0
+  >>> point.length
+  0.0
+
+Its `x-y` bounding box is a ``(minx, miny, maxx, maxy)`` tuple.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> point.bounds
+  (0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0)
+
+Coordinate values are accessed via `coords`, `x`, `y`, and `z` properties.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> list(point.coords)
+  [(0.0, 0.0)]
+  >>> point.x
+  0.0
+  >>> point.y
+  0.0
+
+The `Point` constructor also accepts another `Point` instance, thereby making
+a copy.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> Point(point)
+  <shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>
+
+.. _linestrings:
+
+LineStrings
+-----------
+
+.. class:: LineString(coordinates)
+
+  The `LineString` constructor takes an ordered sequence of 2 or more 
+  ``(x, y[, z])`` point tuples.
+
+The constructed `LineString` object represents one or more connected linear
+splines between the points. Repeated points in the ordered sequence are
+allowed, but may incur performance penalties and should be avoided. A
+`LineString` may cross itself (*i.e.* be `complex` and not `simple`).
+
+.. plot:: code/linestring.py
+
+Figure 1: a simple `LineString` on the left, a complex `LineString` on the
+right. The (`MultiPoint`) boundary of each is shown in black, the other points
+that describe the lines are shown in grey.
+
+A `LineString` has zero area and non-zero length.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> from shapely.geometry import LineString
+  >>> line = LineString([(0, 0), (1, 1)])
+  >>> line.area
+  0.0
+  >>> line.length
+  1.4142135623730951
+
+Its `x-y` bounding box is a ``(minx, miny, maxx, maxy)`` tuple.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> line.bounds
+  (0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0)
+
+The defining coordinate values are accessed via the `coords` property.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> len(line.coords)
+  2
+  >>> list(line.coords)
+  [(0.0, 0.0), (1.0, 1.0)]
+
+The constructor also accepts another `LineString` instance, thereby making a
+copy.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> LineString(line)
+  <shapely.geometry.linestring.LineString object at 0x...>
+
+A sequence of `Point` instances is not a valid constructor parameter. A
+`LineString` is described by points, but is not composed of `Point` instances.
+
+.. _linearrings:
+
+LinearRings
+-----------
+
+.. class:: LinearRing(coordinates)
+
+  The `LinearRing` constructor takes an ordered sequence of ``(x, y[, z])``
+  point tuples.
+  
+The sequence may be explicitly closed by passing identical values in the first
+and last indices. Otherwise, the sequence will be implicitly closed by copying
+the first tuple to the last index. As with a `LineString`, repeated points in
+the ordered sequence are allowed, but may incur performance penalties and
+should be avoided. A `LinearRing` may not cross itself, and may not touch
+itself at a single point.
+
+.. plot:: code/linearring.py
+
+Figure 1: a valid `LinearRing` on the left, an invalid self-touching
+`LinearRing` on the right. The points that describe the rings are shown in
+grey. A ring's boundary is `empty`.
+
+.. note:: 
+   Shapely will not prevent the creation of such rings, but exceptions will be
+   raised when they are operated on.
+
+A `LinearRing` has zero area and non-zero length.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> from shapely.geometry.polygon import LinearRing
+  >>> ring = LinearRing([(0, 0), (1, 1), (1, 0)])
+  >>> ring.area
+  0.0
+  >>> ring.length
+  3.4142135623730949
+
+Its `x-y` bounding box is a ``(minx, miny, maxx, maxy)`` tuple.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> ring.bounds
+  (0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0)
+
+Defining coordinate values are accessed via the `coords` property.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> len(ring.coords)
+  4
+  >>> list(ring.coords)
+  [(0.0, 0.0), (1.0, 1.0), (1.0, 0.0), (0.0, 0.0)]
+
+The `LinearRing` constructor also accepts another `LineString` or `LinearRing`
+instance, thereby making a copy.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> LinearRring(ring)
+  <shapely.geometry.polygon.LinearRing object at 0x...>
+  
+As with `LineString`, a sequence of `Point` instances is not a valid
+constructor parameter.
+
+.. _polygons:
+
+Polygons
+--------
+
+.. class:: Polygon(exterior [,interiors=None])
+
+  The `Polygon` constructor takes two positional parameters. The first is an
+  ordered sequence of ``(x, y[, z])`` point tuples and is treated exactly as in
+  the `LinearRing` case. The second is an optional unordered sequence of
+  ring-like sequences specifying the interior boundaries or "holes" of the
+  feature.
+
+Rings of a `valid` `Polygon` may not cross each other, but may touch at a
+single point only.  Again, Shapely will not prevent the creation of invalid
+features, but exceptions will be raised when they are operated on.
+
+.. plot:: code/polygon.py
+
+Figure 1: On the left, a valid `Polygon` with one interior ring that touches
+the exterior ring at one point, and on the right a `Polygon` that is `invalid`
+because its interior ring touches the exterior ring at more than one point. The
+points that describe the rings are shown in grey.
+
+.. plot:: code/polygon2.py
+
+Figure 1: On the left, a `Polygon` that is `invalid` because its exterior and
+interior rings touch along a line, and on the right, a `Polygon` that is
+`invalid` because its interior rings touch along a line.
+
+A `Polygon` has non-zero area and non-zero length.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> from shapely.geometry import Polygon
+  >>> polygon = Polygon([(0, 0), (1, 1), (1, 0)])
+  >>> polygon.area
+  0.5
+  >>> polygon.length
+  3.4142135623730949
+
+Its `x-y` bounding box is a ``(minx, miny, maxx, maxy)`` tuple.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> polygon.bounds
+  (0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0)
+
+Component rings are accessed via `exterior` and `interiors` properties.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> list(polygon.exterior.coords)
+  [(0.0, 0.0), (1.0, 1.0), (1.0, 0.0), (0.0, 0.0)]
+  >>> list(polygon.interiors)
+  []
+
+The `Polygon` constructor also accepts instances of `LineString` and
+`LinearRing`.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> coords = [(0, 0), (1, 1), (1, 0)]
+  >>> r = LinearRing(coords)
+  >>> s = Polygon(r)
+  >>> s.area
+  0.5  
+  >>> t = Polygon(s.buffer(1.0).exterior, [r])
+  >>> t.area
+  6.5507620529190334
+
+.. _collections:
+
+Collections
+-----------
+
+Shapely provides frozenset_-like, immutable collections of geometric objects.
+The collections may be homogeneous (`MultiPoint` etc.) or heterogeneous.
+
+Heterogeneous collections of geometric objects may result from some Shapely
+operations. For example, two `LineStrings` may intersect along a line and at a
+point.
+
+.. sourcecode:: python
+
+  >>> a = LineString([(0, 0), (1, 1), (1,2), (2,2)])
+  >>> b = LineString([(0, 0), (1, 1), (2,1), (2,2)])
+  >>> x = a.intersection(b)
+  >>> x
+  <shapely.geometry.collection.GeometryCollection object at 0x...>
+  >>> from pprint import pprint
+  >>> pprint(list(x))
+  [<shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>,
+   <shapely.geometry.linestring.LineString object at 0x...>]
+
+.. plot:: code/geometrycollection.py
+   :class: figure
+
+Figure 1: a) a green and a yellow line that intersect along a line and at a
+single point; b) the intersection (in blue) is a collection containing one
+`LineString` and one `Point`.
+
+Members of a `GeometryCollection` are accessed via the `geoms` property or via
+the iterator protocol using ``in``  or ``list()``.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> pprint(list(x.geoms))
+  [<shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>,
+   <shapely.geometry.linestring.LineString object at 0x...>]
+  >>> pprint(list(x))
+  [<shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>,
+   <shapely.geometry.linestring.LineString object at 0x...>]
+
+.. note::
+  
+  When possible, it is better to use one of the homogeneous collection types
+  described below.
+
+.. _multipoints:
+
+Collections of Points
+---------------------
+
+.. class:: MultiPoint(points)
+
+  The `MultiPoint` constructor takes a sequence of ``(x, y[,z ])`` point
+  tuples.
+
+A `MultiPoint` has zero area and zero length.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> from shapely.geometry import MultiPoint
+  >>> points = MultiPoint([(0.0, 0.0), (1.0, 1.0)])
+  >>> points.area
+  0.0
+  >>> points.length
+  0.0
+
+Its `x-y` bounding box is a ``(minx, miny, maxx, maxy)`` tuple.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> points.bounds
+  (0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0)
+
+Members of a multi-point collection are accessed via the ``geoms`` property or
+via the iterator protocol using ``in`` or :func:`list`.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> import pprint
+  >>> pprint.pprint(list(points.geoms))
+  [<shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>,
+   <shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>]  
+  >>> pprint.pprint(list(points))
+  [<shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>,
+   <shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>]
+
+The constructor also accepts another `MultiPoint` instance or an unordered
+sequence of `Point` instances, thereby making copies.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> MultiPoint([Point(0, 0), Point(1, 1)])
+  <shapely.geometry.multipoint.MultiPoint object at 0x...>
+
+.. _multilinestrings:
+
+Collections of Lines
+--------------------
+
+.. class:: MultiLineString(lines)
+
+  The `MultiLineString` constructor takes a sequence of line-like sequences or
+  objects.
+
+.. plot:: code/multilinestring.py
+
+Figure 1: On the left, a `simple`, disconnected `MultiLineString`, and on the
+right, a non-simple `MultiLineString`. The points defining the objects are
+shownb in gray, the boundaries of the objects in black.
+
+A `MultiLineString` has zero area and non-zero length.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> from shapely.geometry import MultiLineString
+  >>> coords = [((0, 0), (1, 1)), ((-1, 0), (1, 0))]
+  >>> lines = MultiLineString(coords)
+  >>> lines.area
+  0.0
+  >>> lines.length
+  3.4142135623730949
+
+Its `x-y` bounding box is a ``(minx, miny, maxx, maxy)`` tuple.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> lines.bounds
+  (-1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0)
+
+Its members are instances of `LineString` and are accessed via the ``geoms``
+property or via the iterator protocol using ``in`` or ``list()``.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> len(lines.geoms)
+  2
+  >>> pprint.pprint(list(lines.geoms))
+  [<shapely.geometry.linestring.LineString object at 0x...>,
+   <shapely.geometry.linestring.LineString object at 0x...>]
+  >>> pprint.pprint(list(lines))
+  [<shapely.geometry.linestring.LineString object at 0x...>,
+   <shapely.geometry.linestring.LineString object at 0x...>]
+  
+The constructor also accepts another instance of `MultiLineString` or an
+unordered sequence of `LineString` instances, thereby making copies.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> MultiLineString(lines)
+  <shapely.geometry.multilinestring.MultiLineString object at 0x...>
+  >>> MultiLineString(lines.geoms)
+  <shapely.geometry.multilinestring.MultiLineString object at 0x...>
+
+.. _multipolygons:
+
+Collections of Polygons
+-----------------------
+
+.. class:: MultiPolygon(polygons)
+
+  The `MultiPolygon` constructor takes a sequence of exterior ring and
+  hole list tuples: [((a1, ..., aM), [(b1, ..., bN), ...]), ...].
+
+More clearly, the constructor also accepts an unordered sequence of `Polygon`
+instances, thereby making copies.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> polygons = MultiPolygon([polygon, s, t])
+  >>> len(polygons.geoms)
+  3
+
+.. plot:: code/multipolygon.py
+
+Figure 1: On the right, a `valid` `MultiPolygon` with 2 members, and on the
+right, a `MultiPolygon` that is invalid because its members touch at an
+infinite number of points (along a line).
+
+Its `x-y` bounding box is a ``(minx, miny, maxx, maxy)`` tuple.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> polygons.bounds
+  (-1.0, -1.0, 2.0, 2.0)
+
+Its members are instances of `Polygon` and are accessed via the ``geoms``
+property or via the iterator protocol using ``in`` or ``list()``.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> len(polygons.geoms)
+  3
+  >>> len(polygons)
+  3
+
+.. _empties:
+
+Empty features
+--------------
+
+An "empty" feature is one with a point set that coincides with the empty set;
+not ``None``, but like ``set([])``. Empty features can be created by calling
+the various constructors with no arguments. Almost no operations are supported
+by empty features.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> line = LineString()
+  >>> line.is_empty
+  True
+  >>> line.length
+  0.0
+  >>> line.bounds
+  ()
+
+The coordinates of a empty feature can be set, after which the geometry is no
+longer empty.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> line.coords = [(0, 0), (1, 1)]
+  >>> line.is_empty
+  False
+  >>> line.length
+  1.4142135623730951
+  >>> line.bounds
+  (0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0)
+
+Linear Referencing Methods
+--------------------------
+
+It can useful to specify position along linear features such as `LineStrings`
+and `MultiLineStrings` with a 1-dimensional referencing system. Shapely
+supports linear referencing based on length or distance, evaluating the
+distance along a geometric object to the projection of a given point, or the
+point at a given distance along the object.
+
+.. note:: 
+
+  Linear referencing methods require the support of GEOS version >= 3.2 or more
+  specifically, a GEOS C API version > (1, 6, 0). This version tuple is
+  surfaced in Shapely as :data:`shapely.geos.geos_capi_version`.
+
+.. method:: object.interpolate(distance[, normalized=False])
+
+  Return a point at the specified distance along a linear geometric object.
+
+If the `normalized` arg is ``True``, the distance will be interpreted as a
+fraction of the geometric object's length.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> ip = LineString([(0, 0), (0, 1), (1, 1)]).interpolate(1.5)
+  >>> ip
+  <shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x740570>
+  >>> ip.wkt
+  'POINT (0.5000000000000000 1.0000000000000000)'
+  >>> LineString([(0, 0), (0, 1), (1, 1)]).interpolate(0.75, normalized=True).wkt
+  'POINT (0.5000000000000000 1.0000000000000000)'
+
+.. method:: object.project(other[, normalized=False])
+
+  Returns the distance along this geometric object to a point nearest the
+  `other` object`.
+
+If the `normalized` arg is ``True``, return the distance normalized to the
+length of the object. The :meth:`project` method is the inverse of
+:meth:`interpolate`.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> LineString([(0, 0), (0, 1), (1, 1)]).project(ip)
+  1.5
+  >>> LineString([(0, 0), (0, 1), (1, 1)]).project(ip, normalized=True)
+  0.75
+
+For example, the linear referencing methods might be used to cut lines at a
+specified distance.
+
+.. sourcecode:: python
+
+  def cut(line, distance):
+      # Cuts a line in two at a distance from its starting point
+      if distance <= 0.0 or distance >= line.length:
+          return [LineString(line)]
+      coords = list(line.coords)
+      for i, p in enumerate(coords):
+          pd = line.project(Point(p))
+          if pd == distance:
+              return [
+                  LineString(coords[:i+1]),
+                  LineString(coords[i:])]
+          if pd > distance:
+              cp = line.interpolate(distance)
+              return [
+                  LineString(coords[:i] + [(cp.x, cp.y)]), 
+                  LineString([(cp.x, cp.y)] + coords[i:])]
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> line = LineString([(0, 0), (1, 0), (2, 0), (3, 0), (4, 0), (5, 0)])
+  >>> pprint([list(x.coords) for x in cut(line, 1.0)])
+  [[(0.0, 0.0), (1.0, 0.0)],
+   [(1.0, 0.0), (2.0, 0.0), (3.0, 0.0), (4.0, 0.0), (5.0, 0.0)]]
+  >>> pprint([list(x.coords) for x in cut(line, 2.5)])
+  [[(0.0, 0.0), (1.0, 0.0), (2.0, 0.0), (2.5, 0.0)],
+   [(2.5, 0.0), (3.0, 0.0), (4.0, 0.0), (5.0, 0.0)]]
+
+.. _predicates:
+
+Predicates and Relationships
+============================
+
+Objects of the types explained in :ref:`objects` provide standard [1]_
+predicates as attributes (for unary predicates) and methods (for binary
+predicates). Whether unary or binary, all return ``True`` or ``False``.
+
+.. _unary-predicates:
+
+Unary Predicates
+----------------
+
+Standard unary predicates are implemented as read-only property attributes. An
+example will be shown for each.
+
+.. attribute:: object.has_z
+
+  Returns ``True`` if the feature has not only `x` and `y`, but also `z`
+  coordinates.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> Point(0, 0).has_z
+  False
+  >>> Point(0, 0, 0).has_z
+  True
+
+.. attribute:: object.is_empty
+
+  Returns ``True`` if the feature's `interior` and `boundary` (in point set
+  terms) coincide with the empty set.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> Point().is_empty
+  True
+  >>> Point(0, 0).is_empty
+  False
+
+.. note::
+
+   With the help of the :mod:`operator` module's :func:`attrgetter` function,
+   unary predicates such as ``is_empty`` can be easily used as predicates for
+   the built in :func:`filter` or :func:`itertools.ifilter`.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> from operator import attrgetter
+  >>> empties = filter(attrgetter('is_empty'), [Point(), Point(0, 0)])
+  >>> len(empties)
+  1
+
+.. attribute:: object.is_ring
+
+  Returns ``True`` if the feature is closed. A closed feature's `boundary`
+  coincides with the empty set.
+  
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> LineString([(0, 0), (1, 1), (1, -1)]).is_ring
+  False
+  >>> LinearRing([(0, 0), (1, 1), (1, -1)]).is_ring
+  True
+
+This property is applicable to `LineString` and `LinearRing` instances, but
+meaningless for others.
+
+.. attribute:: object.is_simple
+
+  Returns ``True`` if the feature does not cross itself.
+  
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> LineString([(0, 0), (1, 1), (1, -1), (0, 1)]).is_simple
+  False
+
+Operations on non-simple `LineStrings` are fully supported by Shapely. 
+
+.. attribute:: object.is_valid
+
+  Returns ``True`` if a feature is "valid" in the sense of [1]_.
+  
+A valid `LinearRing` may not cross itself or touch itself at a single point. A
+valid `Polygon` may not possess any overlapping exterior or interior rings. A
+valid `MultiPolygon` may not collect any overlapping polygons. Operations on
+invalid features may fail.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> MultiPolygon([Point(0, 0).buffer(2.0), Point(1, 1).buffer(2.0)]).is_valid
+  False
+
+The two points above are close enough that the polygons resulting from the
+buffer operations (explained in a following section) overlap.
+
+.. note::
+
+  The ``is_valid`` predicate can be used to write a validating decorator that
+  could ensure that only valid objects are returned from a constructor
+  function.
+
+.. sourcecode:: python
+
+  from functools import wraps
+  def validate(func):
+      @wraps(func)
+      def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
+          ob = func(*args, **kwargs)
+          if not ob.is_valid:
+              raise TopologicalError(
+                  "Given arguments do not determine a valid geometric object")
+          return ob
+      return wrapper
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> @validate
+  ... def ring(coordinates):
+  ...     return LinearRing(coordinates)
+  ...
+  >>> coords = [(0, 0), (1, 1), (1, -1), (0, 1)]  
+  >>> ring(coords)
+  Traceback (most recent call last):
+    File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
+    File "<stdin>", line 7, in wrapper
+  shapely.geos.TopologicalError: Given arguments do not determine a valid geometric object
+
+.. _binary-predicates:
+
+Binary Predicates
+-----------------
+
+Standard binary predicates are implemented as methods. These predicates
+evaluate topological, set-theoretic relationships. In a few cases the results
+may not be what one might expect starting from different assumptions. All take
+another geometric object as argument and return ``True`` or ``False``.
+
+.. method:: object.almost_equals(other[, decimal=6])
+
+  Returns ``True`` if the object is approximately equal to the `other` at all
+  points to specified `decimal` place precision.
+
+See also :meth:`equals`.
+
+.. method:: object.contains(other)
+
+  Returns ``True`` if the object's `interior` contains the `boundary` and
+  `interior` of the other object and their boundaries do not touch at all.
+
+This predicate applies to all types, and is inverse to :meth:`within`. The
+expression ``a.contains(b) == b.within(a)`` always evaluates to ``True``.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> coords = [(0, 0), (1, 1)]
+  >>> LineString(coords).contains(Point(0.5, 0.5))
+  True
+  >>> Point(0.5, 0.5).within(LineString(coords))
+  True
+
+A line's endpoints are part of its `boundary` and are therefore not contained.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> LineString(coords).contains(Point(1.0, 1.0))
+  False
+
+.. note:: 
+
+  Binary predicates can be used directly as predicates for ``filter()`` or
+  ``itertools.ifilter()``.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> line = LineString(coords)
+  >>> contained = filter(line.contains, [Point(), Point(0.5, 0.5)])
+  >>> len(contained)
+  1
+  >>> [p.wkt for p in contained]
+  ['POINT (0.5000000000000000 0.5000000000000000)']
+
+.. method:: object.crosses(other)
+
+  Returns ``True`` if the `interior` of the object intersects the `interior` of
+  the other but does not contain it, and the dimension of the intersection is
+  less than the dimension of the one or the other.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> LineString(coords).crosses(LineString([(0, 1), (1, 0)]))
+  True
+
+A line does not cross a point that it contains.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> LineString(coords).crosses(Point(0.5, 0.5))
+  False
+
+.. method:: object.disjoint(other)
+
+  Returns ``True`` if the `boundary` and `interior` of the object do not
+  intersect at all with those of the other.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> Point(0, 0).disjoint(Point(1, 1))
+  True
+
+This predicate applies to all types and is the inverse of :meth:`intersects`.
+
+.. method:: object.equals(other)
+
+  Returns ``True`` if the set-theoretic `boundary`, `interior`, and `exterior`
+  of the object coincide with those of the other.
+
+The coordinates passed to the object constructors are of these sets, and
+determine them, but are not the entirety of the sets. This is a potential
+"gotcha" for new users.  Equivalent lines, for example, can be constructed
+differently.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> a = LineString([(0, 0), (1, 1)])
+  >>> b = LineString([(0, 0), (0.5, 0.5), (1, 1)])
+  >>> c = LineString([(0, 0), (0, 0), (1, 1)])
+  >>> a.equals(b)
+  True
+  >>> b.equals(c)
+  True
+
+This predicate should not be mistaken for Python's ``==`` or ``is``
+constructions.
+
+.. method:: object.intersects(other)
+
+  Returns ``True`` if the `boundary` and `interior` of the object intersect in
+  any way with those of the other. 
+
+This predicate is equivalent to the OR-ing of :meth:`contains`, :meth:`crosses`,
+:meth:`equals`, :meth:`touches`, and :meth:`within`. 
+
+.. method:: object.touches(other)
+
+  Returns ``True`` if the `boundary` of the object intersects only the
+  `boundary` of the other, and their interiors do not intersect with any part
+  of the other. 
+
+Overlapping features do not therefore `touch`, another potential "gotcha". For
+example, the following lines touch at ``(1, 1)``, but do not overlap.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> a = LineString([(0, 0), (1, 1)])
+  >>> b = LineString([(1, 1), (2, 2)])
+  >>> a.touches(b)
+  True
+
+.. method:: object.within(other)
+
+  Returns ``True`` if the object's `boundary` and `interior` intersect only
+  with the `interior` of the other (not its `boundary` or `exterior`).
+
+This applies to all types and is the inverse of :meth:`contains`.
+
+Used in a ``sorted()`` `key`, :meth:`within` makes it easy to spatially sort
+objects. Let's say we have 4 stereotypic features: a point that is contained by
+a polygon which is itself contained by another polygon, and a free spirited
+point contained by none
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> a = Point(2, 2)
+  >>> b = Polygon([[1, 1], [1, 3], [3, 3], [3, 1]])
+  >>> c = Polygon([[0, 0], [0, 4], [4, 4], [4, 0]])
+  >>> d = Point(-1, -1)
+
+and that copies of these are collected into a list
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> features = [c, a, d, b, c]
+
+that we'd prefer to have ordered as ``[d, c, c, b, a]`` in reverse containment
+order. As explained in the Python `Sorting HowTo`_, we can define a key
+function that operates on each list element and returns a value for comparison.
+Our key function will be a wrapper class that implements ``__lt__()`` using
+Shapely's binary :meth:`within` predicate.
+
+.. sourcecode:: python
+
+  from shapely.geometry import asShape
+  
+  class Within(object):
+      def __init__(self, o):
+          self.o = o
+      def __lt__(self, other):
+          return self.o.within(other.o)
+
+As the howto says, the `less than` comparison is guaranteed to be used in
+sorting. That's what we'll rely on to spatially sort, and the reason why we use
+:meth:`within` in reverse instead of :meth:`contains`. Trying it out on features
+`d` and `c`, we see that it works.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> d < c
+  True
+  >>> Within(d) < Within(c)
+  False
+
+It also works on the list of features, producing the order we want.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> [d, c, c, b, a] == sorted(features, key=Within, reverse=True)
+  True
+
+DE-9IM Relationships
+--------------------
+
+The :meth:`relate` method tests all the DE-9IM [4]_ relationships between
+objects, of which the named relationship predicates above are a subset.
+
+.. method:: object.relate(other)
+
+    Returns a string representation of the DE-9IM matrix of relationships
+    between an object's `interior`, `boundary`, `exterior` and those of another
+    geometric object.
+
+The named relationship predicates (:meth:`contains`, etc.) are typically
+implemented as wrappers around :meth:`relate`.
+
+Two different points have mainly ``F`` (false) values in their matrix; the
+intersection of their `external` sets (the 9th element) is a ``2`` dimensional
+object (the rest of the plane). The intersection of the `interior` of one with
+the `exterior` of the other is a ``0`` dimensional object (3rd and 7th elements
+of the matrix).
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> Point(0, 0).relate(Point(1, 1))
+  'FF0FFF0F2'
+
+The matrix for a line and a point on the line has more "true" (not ``F``)
+elements.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> Point(0, 0).relate(LineString([(0, 0), (1, 1)]))
+  'F0FFFF102'
+
+Further discussion of the DE-9IM matrix is beyond the scope of this manual. See
+[4]_ and http://pypi.python.org/pypi/de9im/0.1.
+
+.. _analysis-methods:
+
+Spatial Analysis Methods
+========================
+
+As well as boolean attributes and methods, Shapely provides analysis methods
+that return new geometric objects.
+
+.. _set-theortic-methods:
+
+Set-theoretic Methods
+---------------------
+
+Almost every binary predicate method has a counterpart that returns a new
+geometric object. In addition, the set-theoretic `boundary` of an object is
+available as a read-only attribute.
+
+.. attribute:: object.boundary
+
+  Returns a lower dimensional object representing the object's set-theoretic
+  `boundary`.
+  
+The boundary of a polygon is a line, the boundary of a line is a collection of
+points. The boundary of a point is an empty (null) collection.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >> coords = [((0, 0), (1, 1)), ((-1, 0), (1, 0))]
+  >>> lines = MultiLineString(coords)
+  >>> lines.boundary
+  <shapely.geometry.multipoint.MultiPoint object at 0x...>
+  >>> pprint(list(lines.boundary))
+  [<shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>,
+   <shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>,
+   <shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>,
+   <shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>]
+  >>> lines.boundary.boundary
+  <shapely.geometry.collection.GeometryCollection object at 0x...>
+  >>> lines.boundary.boundary.is_empty
+  True
+
+See the figures in :ref:`linestrings` and :ref:`multilinestrings` for the
+illustration of lines and their boundaries.
+
+.. attribute:: object.centroid
+
+  Returns a representation of the object's geometric centroid (point).
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> LineString([(0, 0), (1, 1)]).centroid
+  <shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>
+  >>> LineString([(0, 0), (1, 1)]).centroid.wkt
+  'POINT (0.5000000000000000 0.5000000000000000)'
+
+.. note:: 
+
+  The centroid of an object might be one of its points, but this is not
+  guaranteed.
+
+.. method:: object.difference(other)
+
+  Returns a representation of the points making up this geometric object that
+  do not make up the *other* object.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> a = Point(1, 1).buffer(1.5)
+  >>> b = Point(2, 1).buffer(1.5)
+  >>> a.difference(b)
+  <shapely.geometry.polygon.Polygon object at 0x...>
+
+.. note::
+
+  The :meth:`buffer` method is used to produce approximately circular polygons
+  in the examples of this section; it will be explained in detail later in this
+  manual.
+
+.. plot:: code/difference.py
+
+Figure 1: differences between two approximately circular polygons.
+
+.. note::
+
+  Shapely can not represent the difference between an object and a lower
+  dimensional object (such as the difference between a polygon and a line or
+  point) as a single object, and in these cases the difference method returns a
+  copy of the object named ``self``.
+
+.. method:: object.intersection(other)
+
+  Returns a representation of the intersection of this object with the `other`
+  geometric object.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> a = Point(1, 1).buffer(1.5)
+  >>> b = Point(2, 1).buffer(1.5)
+  >>> a.intersection(b)
+  <shapely.geometry.polygon.Polygon object at 0x...>
+
+See the figure under :meth:`symmetric_difference` below.
+
+.. method:: object.symmetric_difference(other)
+
+  Returns a representation of the points in this object not in the `other`
+  geometric object, and the points in the `other` not in this geometric object.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> a = Point(1, 1).buffer(1.5)
+  >>> b = Point(2, 1).buffer(1.5)
+  >>> a.symmetric_difference(b)
+  <shapely.geometry.multipolygon.MultiPolygon object at ...>
+
+.. plot:: code/intersection-sym-difference.py
+
+.. method:: object.union(other)
+  
+  Returns a representation of the union of points from this object and the
+  `other` geometric object.
+
+The type of object returned depends on the relationship between the operands.
+The union of polygons (for example) will be a polygon or a multi-polygon
+depending on whether they intersect or not.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> a = Point(1, 1).buffer(1.5)
+  >>> b = Point(2, 1).buffer(1.5)
+  >>> a.union(b)
+  <shapely.geometry.polygon.Polygon object at 0x...>
+
+The semantics of these operations vary with type of geometric object.  For
+example, compare the boundary of the union of polygons to the union of their
+boundaries.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> a.union(b).boundary
+  <shapely.geometry.polygon.LinearRing object at 0x...>
+  >>> a.boundary.union(b.boundary)
+  <shapely.geometry.multilinestring.MultiLineString object at 0x...>
+
+.. plot:: code/union.py
+
+.. note::
+
+  :meth:`union` is an expensive way to find the cumulative union
+  of many objects. See :func:`shapely.ops.cascaded_union` for a more effective
+  method.
+
+Constructive Methods
+--------------------
+
+Shapely geometric object have several methods that yield new objects not
+derived from set-theoretic analysis.
+
+.. method:: object.buffer(distance, resolution=16)
+
+  Returns an approximate representation of all points within a given `distance`
+  of the this geometric object.
+
+A positive distance has an effect of dilation; a negative distance, erosion.
+The optional `resolution` argument determines the number of segments used to
+approximate a quarter circle around a point. 
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> line = LineString([(0, 0), (1, 1), (0, 2), (2, 2), (3, 1), (1, 0)])
+  >>> dilated = line.buffer(0.5)
+  >>> eroded = dilated.buffer(-0.3)
+
+.. plot:: code/buffer.py
+
+Figure 1. Dilation of a line (left) and erosion of a polygon (right). New
+object is shown in blue.
+
+The default (`resolution` of 16) buffer of a point is a polygonal patch with
+99.8% of the area of the circular disk it approximates.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> p = Point(0, 0).buffer(10.0)
+  >>> len(p.exterior.coords)
+  66
+  >>> p.area
+  313.65484905459385
+
+With a `resolution` of 1, the buffer is a square patch.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> q = Point(0, 0).buffer(10.0, 1)
+  >>> len(q.exterior.coords)
+  5
+  >>> q.area
+  200.0
+
+Passed a `distance` of 0, :meth:`buffer` can be used to "clean" self-touching
+or self-crossing polygons such as the classic "bowtie".
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> coords = [(0, 0), (0, 2), (1, 1), (2, 2), (2, 0), (1, 1), (0, 0)]
+  >>> bowtie = Polygon(coords)
+  >>> bowtie.is_valid
+  False
+  >>> clean = bowtie.buffer(0)
+  >>> clean.is_valid
+  True
+  >>> clean
+  <shapely.geometry.multipolygon.MultiPolygon object at ...>
+  >>> len(clean)
+  2
+  >>> list(clean[0].exterior.coords)
+  [(0.0, 0.0), (0.0, 2.0), (1.0, 1.0), (0.0, 0.0)]
+  >>> list(clean[1].exterior.coords)
+  [(1.0, 1.0), (2.0, 2.0), (2.0, 0.0), (1.0, 1.0)]
+
+Buffering splits the polygon in two at the point where they touch.
+
+.. attribute:: object.convex_hull
+
+  Returns a representation of the smallest convex `Polygon` containing all the
+  points in the object unless the number of points in the object is less than
+  three. For two points, the convex hull collapses to a `LineString`; for 1, a
+  `Point`.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> Point(0, 0).convex_hull
+  <shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>
+  >>> MultiPoint([(0, 0), (1, 1)]).convex_hull
+  <shapely.geometry.linestring.LineString object at 0x...>
+  >>> MultiPoint([(0, 0), (1, 1), (1, -1)]).convex_hull
+  <shapely.geometry.polygon.Polygon object at 0x...>
+
+.. plot:: code/convex_hull.py
+
+Figure 1. Convex hull (blue) of 2 points (left) and of 6 points (right).
+
+.. attribute:: object.envelope
+
+  Returns a representation of the point or smallest rectangular polygon that
+  contains the object.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> Point(0, 0).envelope
+  <shapely.geometry.point.Point object at 0x...>
+  >>> MultiPoint([(0, 0), (1, 1)]).envelope
+  <shapely.geometry.polygon.Polygon object at 0x...>
+
+.. method:: object.simplify(tolerance, preserve_topology=True)
+
+  Returns a simplified representation of the geometric object.
+
+All points in the simplified object will be within the `tolerance` distance of
+the original geometry. By default a slower algorithm is used that preserves
+topology. If preserve topology is set to False the much quicker Douglas-Peucker
+algorithm [6]_ is used.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> p = Point(0.0, 0.0)
+  >>> x = p.buffer(1.0)
+  >>> x.area
+  3.1365484905459389
+  >>> len(x.exterior.coords)
+  66
+  >>> s = x.simplify(0.05, preserve_topology=False)
+  >>> s.area
+  3.0614674589207187
+  >>> len(s.exterior.coords)
+  17
+
+.. plot:: code/simplify.py
+
+Figure 1. Simplification of a nearly circular polygon using a tolerance of 0.2
+(left) and 0.5 (right).
+
+.. note::
+
+  `Invalid` geometric objects may result from simplification that does not
+  preserve topology.
+
+Other Operations
+================
+
+Merging Linear Features
+-----------------------
+
+Sequences of touching lines can be merged into `MultiLineStrings` or `Polygons` using functions in the :mod:`shapely.ops` module.
+
+.. function:: shapely.ops.polygonize(lines)
+
+  Returns an iterator over polygons constructed from the input `lines`.
+
+As with the :class:`MultiLineString` constructor, the input elements may be any
+line-like object.
+  
+.. sourcecode:: python
+
+  >>> from shapely.ops import polygonize
+  >>> lines = [
+  ...     ((0, 0), (1, 1)),
+  ...     ((0, 0), (0, 1)),
+  ...     ((0, 1), (1, 1)),
+  ...     ((1, 1), (1, 0)),
+  ...     ((1, 0), (0, 0))
+  ...     ]
+  >>> pprint(list(polygonize(lines)))
+  [<shapely.geometry.polygon.Polygon object at 0x...>, 
+   <shapely.geometry.polygon.Polygon object at 0x...>]
+
+.. function:: shapely.ops.linemerge(lines)
+
+  Returns a `LineString` or `MultiLineString` representing the merger of all
+  contiguous elements of `lines`.
+
+As with :func:`shapely.ops.polygonize`, the input elements may be any line-like
+object.
+
+.. sourcecode:: python
+
+  >>> from shapely.ops import linemerge
+  >>> linemerge(lines)
+  <shapely.geometry.multilinestring.MultiLineString object at 0x...>
+  >>> pprint(list(linemerge(lines)))
+  [<shapely.geometry.linestring.LineString object at 0x...>,
+   <shapely.geometry.linestring.LineString object at 0x...>,
+   <shapely.geometry.linestring.LineString object at 0x...>]
+
+Cascading Unions
+----------------
+
+The :func:`cascaded_union` function in `shapely.ops` is more efficient than
+accumulating with :meth:`union`.
+
+.. plot:: code/cascaded_union.py
+
+.. function:: shapely.ops.cascaded_union(geoms)
+
+  Returns a representation of the union of the given geometric objects.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> from shapely.ops import cascaded_union
+  >>> polygons = [Point(i, 0).buffer(0.7) for i in range(5)]
+  >>> cascaded_union(polygons)
+  <shapely.geometry.polygon.Polygon object at 0x...>
+
+The function is particularly useful in dissolving `MultiPolygons`.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> m = MultiPolygon(polygons)
+  >>> m.area
+  7.6845438018375516
+  >>> cascaded_union(m).area
+  6.6103013551167971
+
+Prepared Geometry Operations
+----------------------------
+
+Shapely geometries can be processed into a state that supports more efficient
+batches of operations.
+
+.. function:: prepared.prep(ob)
+
+  Creates and returns a prepared geometric object.
+
+To test one polygon containment against a large batch of points, one should
+first use the :func:`prepared.prep` function.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> from shapely.geometry import Point
+  >>> from shapely.prepared import polyprep
+  >>> points = [...] # large list of points
+  >>> polygon = Point(0.0, 0.0).buffer(1.0)
+  >>> prepared_polygon = prep(polygon)
+  >>> prepared_polygon
+  <shapely.prepared.PreparedGeometry object at 0x...>
+  >>> hits = filter(prepared_polygon.contains, points)
+
+Prepared geometries instances have the following methods: ``contains``,
+``contains_properly``, ``covers``, and ``intersects``. All have exactly the
+same arguments and usage as their counterparts in non-prepared geometric
+objects.
+
+Interoperation
+==============
+
+Shapely provides 4 avenues for interoperation with other software.
+
+Well-known Formats
+------------------
+
+A `Well Known Text` (WKT) or `Well Known Binary` (WKB) representation [1]_ of
+any geometric object can be had via its :attr:`wkt` or :attr:`wkb` attribute.
+These representations allow interchange with many GIS programs. PostGIS, for
+example, trades in hex-encoded WKB.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> Point(0, 0).wkt
+  'POINT (0.0000000000000000 0.0000000000000000)'
+  >>> Point(0, 0).wkb.encode('hex')
+  '010100000000000000000000000000000000000000'
+
+The `shapely.wkt` and `shapely.wkb` modules provide `dumps()` and `loads()`
+functions that work almost exactly as their `pickle` and `simplejson` module
+counterparts. To serialize a geometric object to a binary or text string, use
+``dumps()``. To deserialize a string and get a new geometric object of the
+appropriate type, use ``loads()``.
+
+.. function:: shapely.wkb.dumps(ob)
+
+  Returns a WKB representation of `ob`.
+
+.. function:: shapely.wkb.loads(wkb)
+
+  Returns a geometric object from a WKB representation `wkb`.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >> from shapely.wkb import dumps, loads
+  >>> wkb = dumps(Point(0, 0))
+  >>> print wkb.encode('hex')
+  010100000000000000000000000000000000000000
+  >>> loads(wkb).wkt
+  'POINT (0.0000000000000000 0.0000000000000000)'
+
+All of Shapely's geometry types are supported by these functions. 
+
+.. function:: shapely.wkt.dumps(ob)
+
+  Returns a WKT representation of `ob`.
+
+.. function:: shapely.wkt.loads(wkt)
+
+  Returns a geometric object from a WKT representation `wkt`.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >> wkt = dumps(Point(0, 0))
+  >>> print wkt
+  POINT (0.0000000000000000 0.0000000000000000)
+  >>> loads(wkt).wkt
+  'POINT (0.0000000000000000 0.0000000000000000)'
+
+Numpy and Python Arrays
+-----------------------
+
+All geometric objects with coordinate sequences (`Point`, `LinearRing`,
+`LineString`) provide the Numpy array interface and can thereby be converted or
+adapted to Numpy arrays.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> from numpy import array
+  >>> array(Point(0, 0))
+  array([ 0.,  0.])
+  >>> array(LineString([(0, 0), (1, 1)]))
+  array([[ 0.,  0.],
+         [ 1.,  1.]])
+
+The :func:`numpy.asarray` function does not copy coordinate values – at the
+price of slower numpy access to the coordinates of Shapely objects.
+
+.. note::
+
+  The Numpy array interface is provided without a dependency on Numpy itself.
+
+The coordinates of the same types of geometric objects can be had as standard
+Python arrays of `x` and `y` values via the :attr:`xy` attribute.
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> Point(0, 0).xy
+  (array('d', [0.0]), array('d', [0.0]))
+  >>> LineString([(0, 0), (1, 1)]).xy
+  (array('d', [0.0, 1.0]), array('d', [0.0, 1.0]))
+
+The :func:`shapely.geometry.asShape` family of functions can be used to wrap
+numpy coordinate arrays so that they can then be analyzed using Shapely while
+maintaining their original storage. A 1 x 2 array can be adapted to a point
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> from shapely.geometry import asPoint
+  >>> pa = asPoint(array([0.0, 0.0]))
+  >>> pa.wkt
+  'POINT (0.0000000000000000 0.0000000000000000)'
+
+and a N x 2 array can be adapted to a line string
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> from shapely.geometry import asLineString
+  >>> la = asLineString(array([[1.0, 2.0], [3.0, 4.0]]))
+  >>> la.wkt
+  'LINESTRING (1.0000000000000000 2.0000000000000000, 3.0000000000000000 4.0000000000000000)'
+
+There is no Numpy array representation of a polygon.
+
+Python Geo Interface
+--------------------
+
+Any object that provides the GeoJSON-like `Python geo interface`_ can be
+adapted and used as a Shapely geometry using the
+:func:`shapely.geometry.asShape` or :func:`shapely.geometry.shape` functions.
+
+.. function:: shapely.geometry.asShape(context)
+
+  Adapts the context to a geometry interface. The coordinates remain stored in
+  the context.
+
+.. function:: shapely.geometry.shape(context)
+
+   Return a new, independent geometry with coordinates `copied` from the
+   context.
+
+For example, a dictionary:
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> from shapely.geometry import asShape
+  >>> d = {"type": "Point", "coordinates": (0.0, 0.0)}
+  >>> shape = asShape(d)
+  >>> shape.geom_type
+  'Point'
+  >>> list(shape.coords)
+  [(0.0, 0.0)]
+
+Or a simple placemark-type object:
+
+.. sourcecode:: pycon
+
+  >>> class GeoThing(object):
+  ...     def __init__(self, d):
+  ...         self.__geo_interface__ = d
+  >>> thing = GeoThing({"type": "Point", "coordinates": (0.0, 0.0)})
+  >>> shape = asShape(thing)
+  >>> shape.geom_type
+  'Point'
+  >>> list(shape.coords)
+  [(0.0, 0.0)]
+
+Conclusion
+==========
+
+We hope that you will enjoy and profit from using Shapely. Questions and
+comments are welcome on the GIS-Python email list_. This manual will be updated
+and improved regularly. Its source is available at
+http://github.com/sgillies/shapely/tree/master/docs/. 
+
+
+References
+==========
+
+.. [1] John R. Herring, Ed.,
+   “OpenGIS Implementation Specification for Geographic information - Simple
+   feature access - Part 1: Common architecture,” Oct. 2006.
+
+.. [2] M.J. Egenhofer and John R. Herring, 
+   Categorizing Binary Topological Relations Between Regions, Lines, and Points
+   in Geographic Databases,  Orono, ME: University of Maine, 1991.
+
+.. [3] E. Clementini, P. Di Felice, and P. van OOsterom,
+   “A Small Set of Formal Topological Relationships Suitable for End-User
+   Interaction,” Third International Symposium on Large Spatial Databases
+   (SSD). Lecture Notes in Computer Science no. 692, David Abel and Beng Chin
+   Ooi, Eds.,  Singapore: Springer Verlag, 1993, pp. 277-295.
+
+.. [4] C. Strobl, “Dimensionally Extended Nine-Intersection Model (DE-9IM),”
+   Encyclopedia of GIS, S. Shekhar and H. Xiong, Eds.,
+   Springer, 2008, pp. 240-245. [|Strobl-PDF|_]
+
+.. [5] Martin Davis, “JTS Technical Specifications,” Mar. 2003. [|JTS-PDF|_]
+
+.. [6] David H. Douglas and Thomas K. Peucker, 
+   “Algorithms for the Reduction of the Number of Points Required to Represent
+   a Digitized Line or its Caricature,” Cartographica: The International
+   Journal for Geographic Information and Geovisualization,  vol. 10, Dec.
+   1973, pp. 112-122.
+
+
+.. _GEOS: http://geos.refractions.net
+.. _Java Topology Suite: http://www.vividsolutions.com/jts/jtshome.htm
+.. _JTS: http://www.vividsolutions.com/jts/jtshome.htm
+.. _PostGIS: http://postgis.refractions.net
+.. _record: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/Shapely
+.. _wiki: http://trac.gispython.org/lab/wiki/Shapely
+.. _Open Geospatial Consortium: http://www.opengeospatial.org/
+.. _Davis: http://lin-ear-th-inking.blogspot.com/2007/06/subtleties-of-ogc-covers-spatial.html
+.. _Understanding spatial relations: http://edndoc.esri.com/arcsde/9.1/general_topics/understand_spatial_relations.htm
+.. _Strobl-PDF: http://gis.hsr.ch/wiki/images/3/3d/9dem_springer.pdf
+.. |Strobl-PDF| replace:: PDF
+.. _JTS-PDF: http://www.vividsolutions.com/jts/bin/JTS%20Technical%20Specs.pdf
+.. |JTS-PDF| replace:: PDF
+.. _frozenset: http://docs.python.org/library/stdtypes.html#frozenset
+.. _Sorting HowTo: http://wiki.python.org/moin/HowTo/Sorting/
+.. _Python geo interface: http://trac.gispython.org/projects/PCL/wiki/PythonGeoInterface
+.. _list: http://lists.gispython.org/mailman/listinfo/community

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