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Filter Function Reference

This reference describes all filter functions that can be used in WFS/WMS filtering or in SLD expressions.

The list of functions available on a GeoServer instance can be determined by browsing to http://localhost:8080/geoserver/wfs?request=GetCapabilities and searching for ogc:Function_Names (WFS 1.0.0), ogc:FunctionNames (WFS 1.1.0), or fes:Functions (WFS 2.0.0) in the returned XML. If a function is described in the Capabilities document but is not in this reference, then it might mean that the function cannot be used for filtering, or that it is new and has not been documented. Ask for details on the Discourse user group.

Unless otherwise specified, none of the filter functions in this reference are understood natively by the data stores, and thus expressions using them will be evaluated in-memory.

Function argument type reference
    • Type
    • Description
    • Double
    • Floating point number, 8 bytes, IEEE 754. Ranges from 4.94065645841246544e-324d to 1.79769313486231570e+308d
    • Float
    • Floating point number, 4 bytes, IEEE 754. Ranges from 1.40129846432481707e-45 to 3.40282346638528860e+38. Smaller range and less accurate than Double.
    • Integer
    • Integer number, ranging from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647
    • Long
    • Integer number, ranging from -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to +9,223,372,036,854,775,807
    • Number
    • A numeric value of any type
    • Object
    • A value of any type
    • String
    • A sequence of characters
    • Timestamp
    • Date and time information

Comparison functions
    • Name
    • Arguments
    • Description
    • between
    • num:Number, low:Number, high:Number
    • returns true if low <= num <= high
    • equalTo
    • a:Object, b:Object
    • Can be used to compare for equality two numbers, two strings, two dates, and so on
    • greaterEqualThan
    • x:Object, y:Object
    • Returns true if x >= y. Parameters can be either numbers or strings (in the second case lexicographic ordering is used)
    • greaterThan
    • x:Object, y:Object
    • Returns true if x > y. Parameters can be either numbers or strings (in the second case lexicographic ordering is used)
    • in2, in3, in4, in5, in6, in7, in8, in9, in10
    • candidate:Object, v1:Object, ..., v9:Object
    • Returns true if candidate is equal to one of the v1, ..., v9 values. Use the function name matching the number of arguments specified.
    • in
    • candidate:Object, v1:Object, v2:Object, ...
    • Works exactly the same as the in2, ..., in10 functions described above, but takes any number of values as input.
    • isLike
    • string:String, pattern:String
    • Returns true if the string matches the specified pattern. For the full syntax of the pattern specification see the Java Pattern class javadocs
    • isNull
    • obj:Object
    • Returns true the passed parameter is null, false otherwise
    • lessThan
    • x:Object, y:Object
    • Returns true if x < y. Parameters can be either numbers or strings (in the second case lexicographic ordering is used
    • lessEqualThan
    • x:Object, y:Object
    • Returns true if x <= y. Parameters can be either numbers or strings (in the second case lexicographic ordering is used
    • not
    • bool:Boolean
    • Returns the negation of bool
    • notEqualTo
    • x:Object, y:Object
    • Returns true if x and y are equal, false otherwise

Control functions
    • Name
    • Arguments
    • Description
    • if_then_else
    • condition:Boolean, x:Object, y: Object
    • Returns x if the condition is true, y otherwise

Environment function

This function returns the value of environment variables defined in various contexts. WMS GetMap automatically defines some variables SLD rendering, while others can be provided using the env request parameter. Example usage in e.g. a dynamic symbolizer:

${env('size', 20)}

Example usage in a default Symbolizer:

<PointSymbolizer uom="http://www.opengeospatial.org/se/units/metre">
  <Graphic>
  ...
    <Size>
      <ogc:Function name="env">
        <ogc:Literal>size</ogc:Literal>
        <ogc:Literal>20</ogc:Literal>
      </ogc:Function>
    </Size>
  </Graphic>
</PointSymbolizer>
    • Name
    • Arguments
    • Description
    • env
    • variable:String
    • Returns the value of the environment variable variable.

Feature functions
    • Name
    • Arguments
    • Description
    • id
    • feature:Feature
    • returns the identifier of the feature
    • PropertyExists
    • f:Feature, propertyName:String
    • Returns true if f has a property named propertyName
    • property
    • f:Feature, propertyName:String
    • Returns the value of the property propertyName. Allows property names to be computed or specified by Variable substitution in SLD.
    • mapGet
    • f:Feature, map:Map, key:String
    • Get the value of the map map related to the specified key.

Spatial Relationship functions

For more information about the precise meaning of the spatial relationships consult the OGC Simple Feature Specification for SQL
    • Name
    • Arguments
    • Description
    • contains
    • a:Geometry, b:Geometry
    • Returns true if the geometry a contains b
    • crosses
    • a:Geometry, b:Geometry
    • Returns true if a crosses b
    • disjoint
    • a:Geometry, b:Geometry
    • Returns true if the two geometries are disjoint, false otherwise
    • equalsExact
    • a:Geometry, b:Geometry
    • Returns true if the two geometries are exactly equal, same coordinates in the same order
    • equalsExactTolerance
    • a:Geometry, b:Geometry, tol:Double
    • Returns true if the two geometries are exactly equal, same coordinates in the same order, allowing for a tol distance in the corresponding points
    • intersects
    • a:Geometry, b:Geometry
    • Returns true if a intersects b
    • isWithinDistance
    • a: Geometry, b:Geometry, distance: Double
    • Returns true if the distance between a and b is less than distance (measured as an euclidean distance)
    • overlaps
    • a: Geometry, b:Geometry
    • Returns true a overlaps with b
    • relate
    • a: Geometry, b:Geometry
    • Returns the DE-9IM intersection matrix for a and b
    • relatePattern
    • a: Geometry, b:Geometry, pattern:String
    • Returns true if the DE-9IM intersection matrix for a and b matches the specified pattern
    • touches
    • a: Geometry, b: Geometry
    • Returns true if a touches b according to the SQL simple feature specification rules
    • within
    • a: Geometry, b:Geometry
    • Returns true is fully contained inside b

Geometric functions
    • Name
    • Arguments
    • Description
    • area
    • geometry:Geometry
    • The area of the specified geometry. Works in a Cartesian plane, the result will be in the same unit of measure as the geometry coordinates (which also means the results won't make any sense for geographic data)
    • boundary
    • geometry:Geometry
    • Returns the boundary of a geometry
    • boundaryDimension
    • geometry:Geometry
    • Returns the number of dimensions of the geometry boundary
    • buffer
    • geometry:Geometry, distance:Double
    • Returns the buffered area around the geometry using the specified distance
    • bufferWithSegments
    • geometry:Geometry, distance:Double, segments:Integer
    • Returns the buffered area around the geometry using the specified distance and using the specified number of segments to represent a quadrant of a circle.
    • centroid
    • geometry:Geometry
    • Returns the centroid of the geometry. Can be often used as a label point for polygons, though there is no guarantee it will actually lie inside the geometry
    • convexHull
    • geometry:Geometry
    • Returns the convex hull of the specified geometry
    • difference
    • a:Geometry, b:Geometry
    • Returns all the points that sit in a but not in b
    • dimension
    • a:Geometry
    • Returns the dimension of the specified geometry
    • distance
    • a:Geometry, b:Geometry
    • Returns the euclidean distance between the two geometries
    • endAngle
    • line:LineString
    • Returns the angle of the end segment of the linestring
    • endPoint
    • line:LineString
    • Returns the end point of the linestring
    • envelope
    • geometry:geometry
    • Returns the polygon representing the envelope of the geometry, that is, the minimum rectangle with sides parallels to the axis containing it
    • exteriorRing
    • poly:Polygon
    • Returns the exterior ring of the specified polygon
    • geometryType
    • geometry:Geometry
    • Returns the type of the geometry as a string. May be Point, MultiPoint, LineString, LinearRing, MultiLineString, Polygon, MultiPolygon, GeometryCollection
    • geomFromWKT
    • wkt:String
    • Returns the Geometry represented in the Well Known Text format contained in the wkt parameter
    • geomLength
    • geometry:Geometry
    • Returns the length/perimeter of this geometry (computed in Cartesian space)
    • getGeometryN
    • collection:GeometryCollection, n:Integer
    • Returns the n-th geometry inside the collection
    • getX
    • p:Point
    • Returns the x ordinate of p
    • getY
    • p:Point
    • Returns the y ordinate of p
    • getZ
    • p:Point
    • Returns the z ordinate of p
    • interiorPoint
    • geometry:Geometry
    • Returns a point that is either interior to the geometry, when possible, or sitting on its boundary, otherwise
    • interiorRingN
    • polyg:Polygon, n:Integer
    • Returns the n-th interior ring of the polygon
    • intersection
    • a:Geometry, b:Geometry
    • Returns the intersection between a and b. The intersection result can be anything including a geometry collection of heterogeneous, if the result is empty, it will be represented by an empty collection.
    • isClosed
    • line: LineString
    • Returns true if line forms a closed ring, that is, if the first and last coordinates are equal
    • isEmpty
    • geometry:Geometry
    • Returns true if the geometry does not contain any point (typical case, an empty geometry collection)
    • isometric
    • geometry:Geometry, extrusion:Double
    • Returns a MultiPolygon containing the isometric extrusions of all components of the input geometry. The extrusion distance is extrusion, expressed in the same unit as the geometry coordinates. Can be used to get a pseudo-3d effect in a map
    • isRing
    • line:LineString
    • Returns true if the line is actually a closed ring (equivalent to isRing(line) and isSimple(line))
    • isSimple
    • line:LineString
    • Returns true if the geometry self intersects only at boundary points
    • isValid
    • geometry: Geometry
    • Returns true if the geometry is topologically valid (rings are closed, holes are inside the hull, and so on)
    • numGeometries
    • collection: GeometryCollection
    • Returns the number of geometries contained in the geometry collection
    • numInteriorRing
    • poly: Polygon
    • Returns the number of interior rings (holes) inside the specified polygon
    • numPoint
    • geometry: Geometry
    • Returns the number of points (vertexes) contained in geometry
    • offset
    • geometry: Geometry, offsetX:Double, offsetY:Double
    • Offsets all points in a geometry by the specified X and Y offsets. Offsets are working in the same coordinate system as the geometry own coordinates.
    • pointN
    • geometry: Geometry, n:Integer
    • Returns the n-th point inside the specified geometry
    • startAngle
    • line: LineString
    • Returns the angle of the starting segment of the input linestring
    • startPoint
    • line: LineString
    • Returns the starting point of the input linestring
    • symDifference
    • a: Geometry, b:Geometry
    • Returns the symmetrical difference between a and b (all points that are inside a or b, but not both)
    • toWKT
    • geometry: Geometry
    • Returns the WKT representation of geometry
    • union
    • a: Geometry, b:Geometry
    • Returns the union of a and b (the result may be a geometry collection)
    • vertices
    • geom: Geometry
    • Returns a multi-point made with all the vertices of geom

Math functions
    • Name
    • Arguments
    • Description
    • abs
    • value:Integer
    • The absolute value of the specified Integer value
    • abs_2
    • value:Long
    • The absolute value of the specified Long value
    • abs_3
    • value:Float
    • The absolute value of the specified Float value
    • abs_4
    • value:Double
    • The absolute value of the specified Double value
    • acos
    • angle:Double
    • Returns the arc cosine of an angle in radians, in the range of 0.0 through PI
    • asin
    • angle:Double
    • Returns the arc sine of an angle in radians, in the range of -PI / 2 through PI / 2
    • atan
    • angle:Double
    • Returns the arc tangent of an angle in radians, in the range of -PI/2 through PI/2
    • atan2
    • x:Double, y:Double
    • Converts a rectangular coordinate (x, y) to polar (r, theta) and returns theta.
    • ceil
    • x: Double
    • Returns the smallest (closest to negative infinity) double value that is greater than or equal to x and is equal to a mathematical integer.
    • cos
    • angle: Double
    • Returns the cosine of an angle expressed in radians
    • double2bool
    • x: Double
    • Returns true if x is zero, false otherwise
    • exp
    • x: Double
    • Returns Euler's number e raised to the power of x
    • floor
    • x: Double
    • Returns the largest (closest to positive infinity) value that is less than or equal to x and is equal to a mathematical integer
    • IEEERemainder
    • x: Double, y:Double
    • Computes the remainder of x divided by y as prescribed by the IEEE 754 standard
    • int2bbool
    • x: Integer
    • Returns true if x is zero, false otherwise
    • int2ddouble
    • x: Integer
    • Converts x to a Double
    • log
    • x: Integer
    • Returns the natural logarithm (base e) of x
    • max, max_3, max_4
    • x1: Double, x2:Double, x3:Double, x4:Double
    • Returns the maximum between x1, ..., x4
    • min, min_3, min_4
    • x1: Double, x2:Double, x3:Double, x4:Double
    • Returns the minimum between x1, ..., x4
    • pi
    • None
    • Returns an approximation of pi, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter
    • pow
    • base:Double, exponent:Double
    • Returns the value of base raised to the power of exponent
    • random
    • None
    • Returns a Double value with a positive sign, greater than or equal to 0.0 and less than 1.0. Returned values are chosen pseudo-randomly with (approximately) uniform distribution from that range.
    • rint
    • x:Double
    • Returns the Double value that is closest in value to the argument and is equal to a mathematical integer. If two double values that are mathematical integers are equally close, the result is the integer value that is even.
    • round_2
    • x:Double
    • Same as round, but returns a Long
    • round
    • x:Double
    • Returns the closest Integer to x. The result is rounded to an integer by adding 1/2, taking the floor of the result, and casting the result to type Integer. In other words, the result is equal to the value of the expression (int)floor(a + 0.5)
    • roundDouble
    • x:Double
    • Returns the closest Long to x
    • sin
    • angle: Double
    • Returns the sine of an angle expressed in radians
    • tan
    • angle:Double
    • Returns the trigonometric tangent of angle expressed in radians
    • toDegrees
    • angle:Double
    • Converts an angle expressed in radians into degrees
    • toRadians
    • angle:Double
    • Converts an angle expressed in radians into degrees

String functions

String functions generally will accept any type of value for String arguments. Non-string values will be converted into a string representation automatically.
    • Name
    • Arguments
    • Description
    • Concatenate
    • s1:String, s2:String, ...
    • Concatenates any number of strings. Non-string arguments are allowed.
    • strAbbreviate
    • sentence:String, lower:Integer, upper:Integer, append:String
    • Abbreviates the sentence at first space beyond lower (or at upper if no space). Appends append if string is abbreviated.
    • strCapitalize
    • sentence:String
    • Fully capitalizes the sentence. For example, "HoW aRe YOU?" will be turned into "How Are You?"
    • strConcat
    • a:String, b:String
    • Concatenates the two strings into one
    • strDefaultIfBlank
    • str:String, default:String
    • returns default if str is empty, blank or null
    • strEndsWith
    • string:String, suffix:String
    • Returns true if string ends with suffix
    • strEqualsIgnoreCase
    • a:String, b:String
    • Returns true if the two strings are equal ignoring case considerations
    • strIndexOf
    • string:String, substring:String
    • Returns the index within this string of the first occurrence of the specified substring, or -1 if not found
    • strLastIndexOf
    • string:String, substring:String
    • Returns the index within this string of the last occurrence of the specified substring, or -1 if not found
    • strLength
    • string:String
    • Returns the string length
    • strMatches
    • string:String, pattern:String
    • Returns true if the string matches the specified regular expression. For the full syntax of the pattern specification see the Java Pattern class javadocs
    • strReplace
    • string:String, pattern:String, replacement:String, global: boolean
    • Returns the string with the pattern replaced with the given replacement text. If the global argument is true then all occurrences of the pattern will be replaced, otherwise only the first. For the full syntax of the pattern specification see the Java Pattern class javadocs
    • strStartsWith
    • string:String, prefix:String
    • Returns true if string starts with prefix
    • strStripAccents
    • string:String
    • Removes diacritics (\~= accents) from a string. The case will not be altered.
    • strSubstring
    • string:String, begin:Integer, end:Integer
    • Returns a new string that is a substring of this string. The substring begins at the specified begin and extends to the character at index endIndex - 1 (indexes are zero-based).
    • strSubstringStart
    • string:String, begin:Integer
    • Returns a new string that is a substring of this string. The substring begins at the specified begin and extends to the last character of the string
    • strToLowerCase
    • string:String
    • Returns the lower case version of the string
    • strToUpperCase
    • string:String
    • Returns the upper case version of the string
    • strTrim
    • string:String
    • Returns a copy of the string, with leading and trailing blank-space omitted

Parsing and formatting functions
    • Name
    • Arguments
    • Description
    • dateFormat
    • format:String, date:Timestamp
    • Formats the specified date according to the provided format. The format syntax can be found in the Java SimpleDateFormat javadocs
    • dateParse
    • format:String, dateString:String
    • Parses a date from a dateString formatted according to the format specification. The format syntax can be found in the Java SimpleDateFormat javadocs
    • numberFormat
    • format:String, number:Double, locale:String
    • Formats the number according to the specified format using the default locale or the one provided as an optional argument. The format syntax can be found in the Java DecimalFormat javadocs
    • parseBoolean
    • boolean:String
    • Parses a string into a boolean. The empty string, f, 0.0 and 0 are considered false, everything else is considered true.
    • parseDouble
    • number:String
    • Parses a string into a double. The number can be expressed in normal or scientific form.
    • parseInt
    • number:String
    • Parses a string into an integer.
    • parseLong
    • number:String
    • Parses a string into a long integer

Temporal functions
    • Name
    • Arguments
    • Description
    • dateDifference
    • a:Date, b:Date, timeUnits:String
    • Computes the difference between two date (as a-b) and return a result in a specific time units. timeUnits is optional, representing the desired time units result. Default as milliseconds. Possible values are s (seconds), m (minutes), h (hours), d (days).
    • now
    • None
    • Returns the current time as a Date

Transformation functions

Transformation functions transform values from one data space into another. These functions provide a concise way to compute styling parameters from feature attribute values. See also Styling using Transformation Functions.
    • Name
    • Arguments
    • Description

    • Recode

    • lookupValue:Object,

      data:Object, value:Object, ...

    • Transforms a lookupValue from a set of discrete data values into another set of values. Any number of data/value pairs may be specified.

    • Categorize

    • lookupValue:Object, value:Object,

      threshold:Object, ... value:Object,

      belongsTo : String

    • Transforms a continuous-valued attribute value into a set of discrete values. lookupValue and value must be an orderable type (typically numeric). The initial value is required. Any number of additional threshold/value pairs may be specified. belongsTo is optional, with the value succeeding or preceding. It defines which interval to use when the lookup value equals a threshold value.

    • Interpolate

    • lookupValue:Numeric,

      data:Numeric, value:Numeric or #RRGGBB, ...

      mode:String, method:String

    • Transforms a continuous-valued attribute value into another continuous range of values. Any number of data/value pairs may be specified. mode is optional, with the value linear, cosine or cubic. It defines the interpolation algorithm to use. method is optional, with the value numeric or color. It defines whether the target values are numeric or RGB color specifications.