PostgreSQL trigger functions are a great way to automate repetitive tasks and ensure data integrity. With tigger functions, any valid SQL statement can be executed on row insert, update, and/or delete. For example, if a user adds a row to a table, a column called “created_by” could be populated with that user’s PostgreSQL username. When combined with PostGIS, users are also able to execute any spatial query, such as intersect analysis, nearest neighbour analysis, and more. In this webinar, we will present a few practical examples to get you started with trigger functions, such as:

• Populate metadata fields.
• Audit data.
• Calculate area, length, or perimeter.
• Get centroid coordinates for polygons.
• Enforce topology rules.
• Find the nearest features in other layers.
• Create dynamic label fields.
• Populate attributes based on spatial relationships.

Through these examples, participants will understand better how trigger functions can be used to streamline GIS tasks and support data integrity in an enterprise environment.