what does the @> operator in postgres do?

Question

I came across a query in postgres here which uses the @> operator on earth objects.

I've searched everywhere, but have come up empty on the meaning of this operator (and likely others like it, eg: @<, etc...).

Is this documented somewhere in the postgres docs? I'm even more curious to understand what the operator does on earth objects.

Answer 1

In general @> is the "contains" operator.

It is defined for several data types.

• arrays: http://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/functions-array.html
• range types: http://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/functions-range.html
• geometric types: http://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/functions-geometry.html
• JSON (and JSONB): http://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/functions-json.html