Mysql – What MySQL data type should be used for Latitude/Longitude with 8 decimal places

floating pointMySQLtypes

I'm working with map data, and the Latitude/Longitude extends to 8 decimal places. For example:

Latitude 40.71727401
Longitude -74.00898606

I saw in the Google document
which uses: 

lat FLOAT( 10, 6 ) NOT NULL,  
lng FLOAT( 10, 6 ) NOT NULL

however, their decimal places only go to 6.
Should I use FLOAT(10, 8) or is there another method to consider for storing this data so it's precise. It will be used with map calculations. Thanks!

Best Answer

MySQL supports Spatial data types and Point is a single-value type which can be used. Example:

CREATE TABLE `buildings` (
  `coordinate` POINT NOT NULL,
  /* Even from v5.7.5 you can define an index for it */
  SPATIAL INDEX `SPATIAL` (`coordinate`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB;

/* then for insertion you can */
INSERT INTO `buildings` 
(`coordinate`) 
VALUES
(POINT(40.71727401 -74.00898606));
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