mysql_sphere is an extra module for MySQL/MariaDB which adds spherical data types. It provides:
input and output of data
containing, overlapping, and other operators
various input and converting functions and operators
circumference and area of an object
spherical transformation
DOES NOT YET provide indexing of spherical data types
several input and output formats
Hence, you can do (not yet very fast) search and analysis for objects with spherical attributes as used in geographical, astronomical, or other applications using MySQL/MariaDB. For instance, you can manage data of geographical objects around the world and astronomical data like star and other catalogs conveniently using an SQL interface.
This set of MySQL functions is based on the pgSphere module and provides a port of pgSphere for MySQL/MariaDB. Due to differences/limitations of MySQL, there are differences to the syntax compared to pgSphere. MySQL does not provide operator overloading, thus all operators are transformed to functions.
The aim of mysql_sphere is to provide uniform access to spherical data. Because mysql_sphere itself supports a lot of software interfaces, you can now use the same database with different utilities and applications.