Background to programming SDO_GEOMETRY

A spatial data type such as SDO_GEOMETRY defines a storage structure and processing functionality that is exposed through standardized SQL functionality.

If the type's storage structure is not accessible outside of the functions provided with the product, the ability to extend the core functionality of the type becomes dependent on the richness of the supplied functions. If that functionality is limited, nothing can be done because insufficient knowledge exists for accessing the underlying data, unless the vendor provides additional tools for accessing the data through low-level languages, such as C.

In Oracle's case, the SDO_GEOMETRY storage structure uses a SQL object type system that is composed of records/types, numbers, and arrays. This, coupled with powerful spatial and non-spatial functionality (for example, SQL99 analytics and pipelining), which is supplied with the database, creates a rich extensibility platform that allows for new functions...