Subject: SAP-HANA-Live | SAP Domain
With the growing importance of location-based analytics, spatial data processing has become a crucial part of enterprise data strategies. SAP HANA, as a leading in-memory database, provides robust spatial data capabilities. When combined with Core Data Services (CDS) Views in SAP HANA Live, spatial data can be modeled, queried, and consumed in real time, unlocking powerful geospatial analytics integrated seamlessly into SAP applications.
This article explores how spatial data processing is implemented in CDS Views, highlights relevant functions, and illustrates practical use cases within SAP HANA Live.
Spatial data represents information about the physical location and shape of geometric objects — points, lines, polygons — on the earth’s surface. Examples include:
Spatial data analysis enables businesses to optimize logistics, perform location intelligence, and enhance operational decisions.
SAP HANA offers native support for spatial data types and operations such as:
These capabilities are exposed and consumable through CDS Views, enabling developers to integrate spatial logic directly into their data models.
In CDS Views, spatial columns typically reference SAP HANA geometry or geography types. For example, a table storing location data might have a column of type ST_GEOMETRY.
define view ZCDS_StoreLocations as select from stores {
key store_id,
name,
location -- ST_GEOMETRY column representing store location
}
CDS Views support calling SAP HANA spatial functions via the @Function annotation or directly in the select statement, enabling spatial computations such as:
Example: Find stores within a radius of 10 km from a given point.
define view ZCDS_StoresNearby
with parameters
p_center : ST_POINT,
p_radius : abap.float
as select from stores
where ST_Distance(stores.location, :p_center) <= :p_radius
{
key store_id,
name,
location
}
You can perform spatial joins to combine spatial data with other entities, for instance, linking sales data with regions based on spatial containment.
define view ZCDS_SalesByRegion as select from sales as s
inner join regions as r
on ST_Within(s.location, r.region_geom)
{
r.region_id,
r.region_name,
sum(s.amount) as total_sales
}
group by r.region_id, r.region_name
This view aggregates sales amounts grouped by regions where sales occur.
Spatial data processing within CDS Views offers a powerful way to integrate geospatial analytics into SAP HANA Live scenarios. By leveraging SAP HANA’s spatial capabilities, businesses can create real-time, location-aware applications that enhance decision-making and operational efficiency. Mastery of spatial data types, functions, and modeling in CDS Views is key to unlocking these advanced analytics capabilities.