ee.Geometry.symmetricDifference

  • Returns a Geometry representing the parts of two geometries that do not intersect.

  • Accepts two geometries as input: left (the calling geometry) and right.

  • Can be performed using a specified projection or a spherical coordinate system by default.

  • Allows for error tolerance during reprojection using the maxError parameter.

 Returns the symmetric difference between two geometries.

UsageReturns
Geometry.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 Geometry object.
var geometry = ee.Geometry({
  'type': 'Polygon',
  'coordinates':
    [[[-122.081, 37.417],
      [-122.086, 37.421],
      [-122.084, 37.418],
      [-122.089, 37.416]]]
});

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

// Apply the symmetricDifference method to the Geometry object.
var geometrySymmetricDifference = geometry.symmetricDifference({'right': inputGeom, 'maxError': 1});

// Print the result to the console.
print('geometry.symmetricDifference(...) =', geometrySymmetricDifference);

// Display relevant geometries on the map.
Map.setCenter(-122.085, 37.422, 15);
Map.addLayer(geometry,
             {'color': 'black'},
             'Geometry [black]: geometry');
Map.addLayer(inputGeom,
             {'color': 'blue'},
             'Parameter [blue]: inputGeom');
Map.addLayer(geometrySymmetricDifference,
             {'color': 'red'},
             'Result [red]: geometry.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 Geometry object.
geometry = ee.Geometry({
    'type': 'Polygon',
    'coordinates': [[
        [-122.081, 37.417],
        [-122.086, 37.421],
        [-122.084, 37.418],
        [-122.089, 37.416],
    ]],
})

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

# Apply the symmetricDifference method to the Geometry object.
geometry_symmetric_difference = geometry.symmetricDifference(
    right=input_geom, maxError=1
)

# Print the result.
display('geometry.symmetricDifference(...) =', geometry_symmetric_difference)

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