geoarrow-rust

A Python library implementing the GeoArrow specification with efficient spatial operations. This library has "rust" in the name because it is implemented based on the GeoArrow Rust implementation.

Project goals

• Fast: Connects to algorithms implemented in GeoRust, which compile to native code.
• Parallel: Multi-threading is enabled out-of-the-box for all operations on chunked data structures.
• Self-contained: Zero Python dependencies.
• Easy to install: Distributed as static binary wheels with zero C dependencies.
• Strong, static typing: geometry arrays have a known type
• Interoperable ecosystem: Data is shared at zero cost with other Python libraries in the burgeoning GeoArrow ecosystem, such as geoarrow-c or lightning-fast map rendering.

More specifically, it contains:

• GeometryArray, which represents contiguous GeoArrow arrays
• ChunkedGeometryArray, which represents a collection of GeoArrow arrays
• Rust-based algorithms for computations on GeoArrow memory.
• Rust-based parsers for various geospatial file formats.

Documentation

Refer to the documentation at geoarrow.org/geoarrow-rs/python.

Installation

pip install geoarrow-rust-core geoarrow-rust-io

geoarrow-rust is distributed with namespace packaging, meaning that each python package geoarrow-rust-[submodule-name] (imported as geoarrow.rust.[submodule-name]) can be published to PyPI independently. The benefit of this approach is that core library — which contains only pure-Rust code — can be precompiled for many platforms very easily. Then other submodules with C dependencies, like a future geoarrow-rust-geos, which will bind to GEOS for spatial operations, can be built and packaged independently.

Future work:

• 3D coordinates. Only 2D geometries are supported at this time.
• More algorithms, including spatial indexes and spatial joins.
• CRS management. This currently loses the CRS information in the GeoArrow metadata.

Background reading

Refer to the GeoArrow Python module proposal for more background information.