Sql-docs: STContains vs. STWithin vs. STIntersects?

[eliotg]

It would be nice if the documentation explicitly addressed why there are multiple ostensibly similar functions. Since STIntersects' existence presumably rules out partial vs. strict subset, I can't think of any other English-based meaning difference between STWithin and STContains.

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• ID: 5be221aa-48df-e9ab-fc2d-65d4f7ec56ce
• Version Independent ID: b81cfb49-c58a-97bd-5e85-224e567a633e
• Content: STContains (geography Data Type) - SQL Server
• Content Source: docs/t-sql/spatial-geography/stcontains-geography-data-type.md
• Product: sql
• Technology: t-sql
• GitHub Login: @douglaslMS
• Microsoft Alias: douglasl

[MikeRayMSFT]

Thank you @eliotg - again - I'll find the answer.

[MikeRayMSFT]

Still monitoring.

[MikeRayMSFT]

Here's the answer that I got back:)

Functions starting with ST are OGC standardized function calls that can be found in other implementations of OGC spec as well in similar forms (e.g. ST_Within, ST_Contains, in PostgreSQL, Oracle, etc)

Also, I don’t see any language ambiguity when saying if A CONTAINS B, then B is WITHIN A, i.e.

a.STWithin(b) == b.STContains(a)