The document introduces MongoDB's spatial functionality for geospatial queries and provides an overview of loading spatial data and creating a 2d index in MongoDB, demonstrating basic nearby and containment queries and showing example code for building applications using spatial data with MongoDB deployed on OpenShift's free Platform as a Service cloud offering.

1. Get your Spatial on with
MongoDB in the Cloud
Steven Citron-Pousty
PaaS Dust Spreader, Red Hat
1

2. Agenda
• Learn a little spatial
• Load some spatial data into MongoDB
• Do a query or two
• Show some server-side code using it
• MAKE YOU A ROCKSTAR!!
2

3. Assumptions
1) You can use the command line
2) You are comfortable with MongoDB command line
3) Please ask questions – though since we only have 30
minutes they may have to wait until the end or after
the session
3

4. What is OpenShift?
Red Hat's free, auto-scaling Platform as a Service (PaaS) for
applications in the cloud.
4

5. Kind of like Amazon, right? Nope.
5

6. What’s supported?
6

7. Looks great, but what’s the catch?
• OpenShift is free-as-in-beer & free-as-in-freedom
• Three 1.5 GB RAM / 3 GB storage gears
• Need more resources, just ask!
• We are in Developer Preview
7

8. On to Spatial and MongoDB
8

9. Spatial is fun!
The only spatial functionality MongoDB currently has is:
2) Near
3) Containment
All of it is laid out on one page:
http://www.mongodb.org/display/DOCS/Geospatial+Indexing
First link on a google search for “MongoDB spatial
indexing”
9

10. Caveats
1. Assumes coordinates are between -180 and 180
2. Can handle any 2d coordinates
3. Has methods to handle curvature of the earth
(spherical)
10

11. How to make it work
1) Put your coordinates into an arrary
{ loc : [ 50 , 30 ] } //SUGGESTED OPTION
{ loc : { x : 50 , y : 30 } }
{ loc : { foo : 50 , y : 30 } }
{ loc : { lon : 40.739037, lat: 73.992964 } }
6) Make a 2d index
db.places.ensureIndex( { loc : "2d" } )
11

12. Demo
1. I have an app and a MongoDB instance running
2. Load some spatial data in JSON format
3. Make the 2d index
4. Do a bunch of command you would need in building
an app (except Deleting docs, because that is easy
cheezy)
12

13. Conclusion
1. Spatial is easy and fun on MongoDB!
2. You can now build your own FourSquare or other
check-in application.
3. You can also build your own field data entry system.
4. You can build and deploy your application quickly
without having to think about infrastructure.
13