multilinestrings

A multilinestring is a geometric object composed of one or more linestrings. A linestring itself is a sequence of connected points, representing a path or a line segment. In a multilinestring, these individual linestrings can be disjoint or share endpoints. The primary characteristic of a multilinestring is that it is a collection of linear features, rather than a single continuous one.

The individual linestrings within a multilinestring are ordered. This means that the sequence of points defining each linestring is important, and the collection of linestrings also has an order. However, unlike a linestring, a multilinestring does not have a specific start or end point in its entirety. Its geometry is defined by the sum of the geometries of its constituent linestrings.

Multilinestrings are commonly used in geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial databases to represent features that are linear but can be broken into separate segments. Examples include roads that are interrupted by rivers or lakes, or subway lines that have stations as breaks in the track. They are also used to represent complex networks where multiple linear paths are related. The spatial relationship operations, such as intersection, union, and distance calculations, can be performed on multilinestrings by considering the properties of their individual linestring components.