ee.Geometry.MultiPoint.difference

  • difference() returns the result of subtracting the 'right' geometry from the 'left' geometry, essentially removing the overlapping portion of the 'left' geometry that is also present in the 'right' geometry.

  • This method can be applied to a MultiPoint geometry, allowing users to find the points in the MultiPoint that do not fall within the boundaries of another geometry.

  • maxError and proj are optional parameters that can be used to control the accuracy and projection of the operation, respectively.

 Returns the result of subtracting the 'right' geometry from the 'left' geometry.

UsageReturns
MultiPoint.difference(right, maxError, proj)Geometry
ArgumentTypeDetails
this: leftGeometryThe geometry used as the left operand of the operation.
rightGeometryThe geometry used as the right operand of the operation.
maxErrorErrorMargin, default: nullThe maximum amount of error tolerated when performing any necessary reprojection.
projProjection, default: nullThe 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 MultiPoint object.
var multiPoint = ee.Geometry.MultiPoint([[-122.082, 37.420], [-122.081, 37.426]]);

// Define other inputs.
var inputGeom = ee.Geometry.BBox(-122.085, 37.415, -122.075, 37.425);

// Apply the difference method to the MultiPoint object.
var multiPointDifference = multiPoint.difference({'right': inputGeom, 'maxError': 1});

// Print the result to the console.
print('multiPoint.difference(...) =', multiPointDifference);

// Display relevant geometries on the map.
Map.setCenter(-122.085, 37.422, 15);
Map.addLayer(multiPoint,
             {'color': 'black'},
             'Geometry [black]: multiPoint');
Map.addLayer(inputGeom,
             {'color': 'blue'},
             'Parameter [blue]: inputGeom');
Map.addLayer(multiPointDifference,
             {'color': 'red'},
             'Result [red]: multiPoint.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 MultiPoint object.
multipoint = ee.Geometry.MultiPoint([[-122.082, 37.420], [-122.081, 37.426]])

# Define other inputs.
input_geom = ee.Geometry.BBox(-122.085, 37.415, -122.075, 37.425)

# Apply the difference method to the MultiPoint object.
multipoint_difference = multipoint.difference(right=input_geom, maxError=1)

# Print the result.
display('multipoint.difference(...) =', multipoint_difference)

# Display relevant geometries on the map.
m = geemap.Map()
m.set_center(-122.085, 37.422, 15)
m.add_layer(multipoint, {'color': 'black'}, 'Geometry [black]: multipoint')
m.add_layer(input_geom, {'color': 'blue'}, 'Parameter [blue]: input_geom')
m.add_layer(
    multipoint_difference,
    {'color': 'red'},
    'Result [red]: multipoint.difference',
)
m