ee.Geometry.BBox.symmetricDifference

  • Returns the difference between the union and intersection of two geometries.

  • Accepts a right-hand geometry, an optional error margin, and an optional projection as input.

  • Can be applied to BBox geometries in both JavaScript and Python environments within Google Earth Engine.

  • Computes the areas of the input geometries that do not overlap.

 Returns the symmetric difference between two geometries.

UsageReturns
BBox.symmetricDifference(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 BBox object.
var bBox = ee.Geometry.BBox(-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 symmetricDifference method to the BBox object.
var bBoxSymmetricDifference = bBox.symmetricDifference({'right': inputGeom, 'maxError': 1});

// Print the result to the console.
print('bBox.symmetricDifference(...) =', bBoxSymmetricDifference);

// Display relevant geometries on the map.
Map.setCenter(-122.085, 37.422, 15);
Map.addLayer(bBox,
             {'color': 'black'},
             'Geometry [black]: bBox');
Map.addLayer(inputGeom,
             {'color': 'blue'},
             'Parameter [blue]: inputGeom');
Map.addLayer(bBoxSymmetricDifference,
             {'color': 'red'},
             'Result [red]: bBox.symmetricDifference');

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 BBox object.
bbox = ee.Geometry.BBox(-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 symmetricDifference method to the BBox object.
bbox_symmetric_difference = bbox.symmetricDifference(
    right=input_geom, maxError=1
)

# Print the result.
display('bbox.symmetricDifference(...) =', bbox_symmetric_difference)

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