从数据库表中选择重叠的矩形

Question

I have a database table (postgres) that stores rectangles, defined by the grid co-ordinates (X and Y) of the bottom left and top right hand corners. The table is defined something like this......

CREATE TABLE tableA (
  minX             NUMERIC, 
  minY             NUMERIC, 
  maxX             NUMERIC,
  maxY             NUMERIC 
);

Where minX and minY are the co-ordinates of the bottom left corner, and maxX and maxY the co-ordinates of the top right.

I'm trying to come up with a SQL query that will pull back the records of any rectangle that overlaps a target rectangle also defined by the bottom left and top right corners - minX_T , minY_T , maxX_T , maxY_T .

This is what I've come up with so far...

SELECT * FROM tableA  
WHERE 
( 
  ( 
    (minY <=minY_T AND maxY >= minY_T) 
    AND 
    (minX <=minX_T AND maxX >= minX_T) 
  ) 
  OR 
  ( 
    (minY <=maxY_T AND maxY >= maxY_T) 
    AND 
    (minX <=maxX_T AND maxX >= maxX_T) 
  ) 
  OR 
  ( 
    (minY <=maxY_T AND maxY >= maxY_T) 
    AND 
    (minX <=minX_T AND maxX >= minX_T) 
  ) 
  OR 
  ( 
    (minY <=minY_T AND maxY >= minY_T) 
    AND 
    (minX <=maxX_T AND maxX >= maxX_T) 
  )
)

This works (partially) it selects any records from the database where a corner of the rectangle falls within the target, however it wont find all variations and it's a really messy bit of SQL. At first glance this is a really simple problem, but I've been racking my brains on this for hours now - each time a I think I have a solution I discover a scenario that it won't work for!

Any ideas? (BTW - this only for rectangles with sides either horizontal, or vertical)

---

ok, after another few hours, this simpler version seems to do the trick

SELECT * FROM tableA
WHERE 
( 
 minX_T < maxX 
  AND 
 maxX_T > minX 
  AND 
 minY_T < maxY 
  AND 
 maxY_T > minY 
) 

Answer 1

Do not reinvent the wheel (or in this case the box). Postgres provides geometric data types (in this case point and box) and the necessary geometric functions for exactly what you want.
The following sql function will return any overlapping 'box' from your table:

create or replace 
function overlaps_rectangle( rectangle_in box) 
 returns setof tablea
 language sql
 as $$
    select * 
      from tablea 
     where box( point(maxx,maxy),point(minx,miny)) && rectangle_in ;
$$;

See example here :

The function is not actually needed, the sql statement itself can run as is as a script. I just find passing parameters to a function easier than modifying a script. Going a step further and depending on other uses you could actually store the values as Points or even Boxes. Samples include in above reference. Note: as a Box

Any two opposite corners can be supplied on input, but the values will be reordered as needed to store the upper right and lower left corners, in that order.