Announcement: All noncommercial projects registered to use Earth Engine before
April 15, 2025 must
verify noncommercial eligibility to maintain Earth Engine access.
ee.Geometry.LineString.difference
Stay organized with collections
Save and categorize content based on your preferences.
Returns the result of subtracting the 'right' geometry from the 'left' geometry.
Usage | Returns | LineString.difference(right, maxError, proj) | Geometry |
Argument | Type | Details | this: left | Geometry | The geometry used as the left operand of the operation. |
right | Geometry | The geometry used as the right operand of the operation. |
maxError | ErrorMargin, default: null | The maximum amount of error tolerated when performing any necessary reprojection. |
proj | Projection, default: null | The projection in which to perform the operation. If not specified, the operation will be performed in a spherical coordinate system, and linear distances will be in meters on the sphere. |
Examples
Code Editor (JavaScript)
// Define a LineString object.
var lineString = ee.Geometry.LineString([[-122.09, 37.42], [-122.08, 37.43]]);
// Define other inputs.
var inputGeom = ee.Geometry.BBox(-122.085, 37.415, -122.075, 37.425);
// Apply the difference method to the LineString object.
var lineStringDifference = lineString.difference({'right': inputGeom, 'maxError': 1});
// Print the result to the console.
print('lineString.difference(...) =', lineStringDifference);
// Display relevant geometries on the map.
Map.setCenter(-122.085, 37.422, 15);
Map.addLayer(lineString,
{'color': 'black'},
'Geometry [black]: lineString');
Map.addLayer(inputGeom,
{'color': 'blue'},
'Parameter [blue]: inputGeom');
Map.addLayer(lineStringDifference,
{'color': 'red'},
'Result [red]: lineString.difference');
Python setup
See the
Python Environment page for information on the Python API and using
geemap
for interactive development.
import ee
import geemap.core as geemap
Colab (Python)
# Define a LineString object.
linestring = ee.Geometry.LineString([[-122.09, 37.42], [-122.08, 37.43]])
# Define other inputs.
input_geom = ee.Geometry.BBox(-122.085, 37.415, -122.075, 37.425)
# Apply the difference method to the LineString object.
linestring_difference = linestring.difference(right=input_geom, maxError=1)
# Print the result.
display('linestring.difference(...) =', linestring_difference)
# Display relevant geometries on the map.
m = geemap.Map()
m.set_center(-122.085, 37.422, 15)
m.add_layer(linestring, {'color': 'black'}, 'Geometry [black]: linestring')
m.add_layer(input_geom, {'color': 'blue'}, 'Parameter [blue]: input_geom')
m.add_layer(
linestring_difference,
{'color': 'red'},
'Result [red]: linestring.difference',
)
m
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2023-10-06 UTC.
[null,null,["Last updated 2023-10-06 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003e\u003ccode\u003edifference()\u003c/code\u003e returns the geometric difference between two geometries, essentially subtracting the 'right' geometry from the 'left'.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIt's applicable to LineString geometries and likely other geometry types.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eOptional parameters allow controlling the projection and error margin for the operation.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe result is a new geometry representing the portions of the 'left' geometry that do not intersect with the 'right' geometry.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["The `difference` method subtracts a 'right' geometry from a 'left' geometry, returning the resulting geometry. It accepts the 'right' geometry, an optional `maxError` for reprojection tolerance, and an optional `proj` for the operation's projection. The provided examples show creating a `LineString` and a bounding box geometry, then computing their difference, displaying them, and showing how to display the difference operation in both JavaScript and Python.\n"],null,["# ee.Geometry.LineString.difference\n\nReturns the result of subtracting the 'right' geometry from the 'left' geometry.\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\n| Usage | Returns |\n|---------------------------------------------------------|----------|\n| LineString.difference`(right, `*maxError* `, `*proj*`)` | Geometry |\n\n| Argument | Type | Details |\n|--------------|----------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| this: `left` | Geometry | The geometry used as the left operand of the operation. |\n| `right` | Geometry | The geometry used as the right operand of the operation. |\n| `maxError` | ErrorMargin, default: null | The maximum amount of error tolerated when performing any necessary reprojection. |\n| `proj` | Projection, default: null | The projection in which to perform the operation. If not specified, the operation will be performed in a spherical coordinate system, and linear distances will be in meters on the sphere. |\n\nExamples\n--------\n\n### Code Editor (JavaScript)\n\n```javascript\n// Define a LineString object.\nvar lineString = ee.Geometry.LineString([[-122.09, 37.42], [-122.08, 37.43]]);\n\n// Define other inputs.\nvar inputGeom = ee.Geometry.BBox(-122.085, 37.415, -122.075, 37.425);\n\n// Apply the difference method to the LineString object.\nvar lineStringDifference = lineString.difference({'right': inputGeom, 'maxError': 1});\n\n// Print the result to the console.\nprint('lineString.difference(...) =', lineStringDifference);\n\n// Display relevant geometries on the map.\nMap.setCenter(-122.085, 37.422, 15);\nMap.addLayer(lineString,\n {'color': 'black'},\n 'Geometry [black]: lineString');\nMap.addLayer(inputGeom,\n {'color': 'blue'},\n 'Parameter [blue]: inputGeom');\nMap.addLayer(lineStringDifference,\n {'color': 'red'},\n 'Result [red]: lineString.difference');\n```\nPython setup\n\nSee the [Python Environment](/earth-engine/guides/python_install) page for information on the Python API and using\n`geemap` for interactive development. \n\n```python\nimport ee\nimport geemap.core as geemap\n```\n\n### Colab (Python)\n\n```python\n# Define a LineString object.\nlinestring = ee.Geometry.LineString([[-122.09, 37.42], [-122.08, 37.43]])\n\n# Define other inputs.\ninput_geom = ee.Geometry.BBox(-122.085, 37.415, -122.075, 37.425)\n\n# Apply the difference method to the LineString object.\nlinestring_difference = linestring.difference(right=input_geom, maxError=1)\n\n# Print the result.\ndisplay('linestring.difference(...) =', linestring_difference)\n\n# Display relevant geometries on the map.\nm = geemap.Map()\nm.set_center(-122.085, 37.422, 15)\nm.add_layer(linestring, {'color': 'black'}, 'Geometry [black]: linestring')\nm.add_layer(input_geom, {'color': 'blue'}, 'Parameter [blue]: input_geom')\nm.add_layer(\n linestring_difference,\n {'color': 'red'},\n 'Result [red]: linestring.difference',\n)\nm\n```"]]