Understanding and using SDO_ELEM_INFO

The new functionality created so far did not require looking at the logical structure of an SDO_GEOMETRY object, as described by the SDO_ELEM_INFO attribute. Understanding and being able to process the contents of this VARRAY is important, when developing or implementing more complex functionality.

The SDO_ELEM_INFO (see "2.2.4 SDO_ELEM_INFO", in the Oracle® Spatial Developer's Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2)) attribute is organized as a set of elements, each having three values or members. Each member of a triplet has a name: SDO_OFFSET (actually SDO_STARTING_OFFSET), SDO_ETYPE, and SDO_INTERPRETATION. These members are described in the "Section 2.2.4 SDO_ELEM_INFO", in the Oracle® Spatial Developer's Guide 11g Release 2 (11.2) (edited) by the following Table:

SDO_OFFSET	Indicates the offset within the SDO_ORDINATES array where the first ordinate For this element is stored.
SDO_ETYPE	Indicates the type of the element. values 1, 2, 1003, and 2003 are considered...