ee.Geometry.Rectangle.symmetricDifference

  • symmetricDifference() returns a Geometry representing the parts of two geometries that do not intersect.

  • It takes a Geometry as the right operand and optional maxError and proj parameters for reprojection control.

  • The result includes areas of the left (calling) Geometry and the right Geometry that are not shared by both.

  • This operation is useful for isolating unique regions of two overlapping or adjacent geometries.

 Returns the symmetric difference between two geometries.

UsageReturns
Rectangle.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 Rectangle object.
var rectangle = ee.Geometry.Rectangle(-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 Rectangle object.
var rectangleSymmetricDifference = rectangle.symmetricDifference({'right': inputGeom, 'maxError': 1});

// Print the result to the console.
print('rectangle.symmetricDifference(...) =', rectangleSymmetricDifference);

// Display relevant geometries on the map.
Map.setCenter(-122.085, 37.422, 15);
Map.addLayer(rectangle,
             {'color': 'black'},
             'Geometry [black]: rectangle');
Map.addLayer(inputGeom,
             {'color': 'blue'},
             'Parameter [blue]: inputGeom');
Map.addLayer(rectangleSymmetricDifference,
             {'color': 'red'},
             'Result [red]: rectangle.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 Rectangle object.
rectangle = ee.Geometry.Rectangle(-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 Rectangle object.
rectangle_symmetric_difference = rectangle.symmetricDifference(
    right=input_geom, maxError=1
)

# Print the result.
display('rectangle.symmetricDifference(...) =', rectangle_symmetric_difference)

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