Use the ST_ImportIFC function to import IFC files - PolarDB

Imports an Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) file into a database. Returns true on success and creates three tables prefixed with the value you provide.

Syntax

Syntax 1 — import from object storage:

boolean ST_ImportIFC(cstring prefix, cstring url, cstring options default '{}');

Syntax 2 — import from binary data:

boolean ST_ImportIFC(cstring prefix, bytea content, cstring options default '{}');

Parameters

Parameter	Description
`prefix`	The prefix applied to all three output table names.
`url`	The path to the IFC file in object storage. Use this parameter when the file is stored in an Object Storage Service (OSS) bucket. For supported path formats, see Object storage paths.
`content`	The binary representation of the IFC file. Use this parameter to import the file by passing its binary data directly, instead of a URL.
`options`	A JSON object that controls the import behavior. Defaults to `{}`.

Options fields

Field	Type	Default	Description
`schema`	String	`public`	The schema of the destination tables.
`project`	String	—	A project name written to the `project_name` column of every imported record. Use this field when one database stores data from multiple sub-projects.

Output tables

A successful import creates three tables in the database.

`[prefix]_ifc_elem` — IFC objects

Stores all IFC objects and their attributes. Query this table to retrieve building elements, spatial structure elements, and their properties.

Field	Type	Description
`id`	serial	Row ID.
`family`	text	The IFC class family of the element, typically `IfcBuildingElement` or `IfcSpatialStructureElement`.
`project_uuid`	text	UUID of the root `IfcProject` node in the IFC file.
`project_name`	text	The project name set via the `project` option. Empty if not specified.
`parent_uuid`	text	UUID of the parent element. Set to `root` for elements of type `IfcProject`.
`uuid`	text	UUID of the element, matching the UUID in the source IFC file.
`name`	text	Name of the element, inherited from the `Name` attribute of `IfcRoot`.
`attrs`	jsonb	Fixed attributes of the element. Extend with additional types and attributes as needed.
`props_set`	jsonb	Non-fixed property sets of the element. Corresponds to `IfcRelDefinesByProperties`.
`element`	sfmesh	The geometric entity of the element.

`[prefix]_ifc_geom_elem` — Geometry components

Stores all geometric objects. Query this table to retrieve and analyze the geometry of building components.

Field	Type	Description
`id`	serial	Row ID.
`project_uuid`	text	UUID of the project. Matches `project_uuid` in the IFC object table.
`project_name`	text	The project name set via the `project` option. Empty if not specified.
`geometry_id`	text	The geometry ID of the element. The value consists of the geometric and material characteristics of the element.
`geom_element`	sfmesh	The geometry data of the element.

`[prefix]_ifc_material_elem` — Materials

Stores all material objects. Query this table to look up material definitions associated with building components.

Field	Type	Description
`id`	serial	Row ID.
`project_uuid`	text	UUID of the project. Matches `project_uuid` in the IFC object table.
`project_name`	text	The project name set via the `project` option. Empty if not specified.
`material_name`	text	The name of the material.
`material_element`	material	The material data of the element.

Limitations

The following data is not imported:

IfcOpeningElement — openings such as door and window cutouts are skipped.
Orphan nodes — nodes that cannot be attached to an IfcProject node are skipped.
IfcElementType — element type definitions are temporarily skipped.

Examples

Example 1: Import from an OSS bucket without a project name.

SELECT ST_ImportIFC(
  'Building',
  'OSS://<ak>:<ak_secret>@oss-cn-beijing-internal.aliyuncs.com/mybucket/path_to_ifc'
);

---------
t

Example 2: Import from an OSS bucket with a project name.

SELECT ST_ImportIFC(
  'Building',
  'OSS://<ak>:<ak_secret>@oss-cn-beijing-internal.aliyuncs.com/mybucket/path_to_ifc',
  '{"project":"building_1"}'
);

---------
t

Replace the following placeholders with your actual values:

Placeholder	Description
`<ak>`	Your Alibaba Cloud AccessKey ID.
`<ak_secret>`	Your Alibaba Cloud AccessKey secret.