Handling arbitrary polygon query based on the boolean overlay on a geographical information system

Current Geographical Information System (GIS) has been applied the classical point-in-polygon algorithm such as the ray casting algorithm and winding algorithm to conduct spatial analysis. These algorithms have linear complexity with the number of points available in the map. In this paper, we introduce an efficient algorithm to handle arbitrary polygonal queries on a GIS based on the boolean overlay. The algorithm is able to find whether a point is inside, outside, or on the boundary of a given polygon by utilizing a very simple boolean overlay mechanisms in a GIS. Experimental results show that the algorithm works very accurate with 100% accuracy and works very fast.