Summary

PostGIS can store and analyze vector data not only in the Simple Feature model, but also in a topological model. This model is a good fit for data such as networks and boundaries, where connectivity and topological consistency are important. The toolset available is not as rich as Simple Feature's toolset, but all common processing tasks, such as creating, editing, merging, and splitting, can be accomplished with available functions. A very useful feature is the ability to simplify features while maintaining the topological integrity. Also, just by importing data into topology, some minor inconsistencies, such as unconnected lines, can be automatically fixed.