Spatial

Oracle Spatial is an option of the Oracle database that allows users to store and retrieve geographical or location information. Some examples: population by county, amount of sales by state, amount of employees per site, etc.

History

Oracle Spatial was previously known as SDO and before that as MultiDimension. A brief history:

• Spatial data capabilities as modification shipped by scientists working with the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) to Oracle 4.
• Spatial Data Option (SDO) shipped in Oracle 7.3.3.
• Spatial introduced it's object type in Oracle 8.1.5.
• Spatial added Java Classes, Projections, Linear Referencing and R-Tree Indexing in Oracle 8.1.7.
• Spatial added Whole Earth Geometry Model, Function-based indexes, Object replication, Partitioning in Oracle 9i.
• Spatial added Geocoder, GeoRaster, Network Data Model, Topology, Spatial Analytic Functions and Routing engine in Oracle 10g.
• Spatial added 3D Support and Web Services in Oracle 11g.
• Oracle Application Server MapViewer first shipped in AS 9.0.2
• MapViewer, now called the Map Visualization Component, is part of the Spatial feature in Oracle Database

Licensing

Oracle Spatial is a free option included in Oracle Standard Edition 2 and Enterprise Edition.

Functionality provided

• An object type (SDO_GEOMETRY) that describes and supports any type of geometry
• A spatial indexing capability that lets you create spatial indexes on geometry data
• Spatial operators that use the spatial index for performing spatial queries
• Some geometry functions and the SDO_AGGR_MBR spatial aggregate function
• An object type that describes and supports geometries such as points, lines, polygons
• Fast spatial R-tree indexing
• Spatial operators that use the spatial index for performing queries that determine the interaction of geometric features
• Spatial functions for distance, area, and length
• Spatial function for buffering (new to Locator in release 11g)
• Open, standard SQL access to spatial operations
• Whole Earth geometry model that provides comprehensive storage, management and use of geodetic data
• Function-based spatial indexes
• Long transactions (through Oracle Workspace Manager feature)
• Coordinate system support based on the European Petroleum Survey Group (EPSG) data model
• Explicit coordinate transformations
• Support for SQL/MM Spatial types and operators** (new to Locator in release 11g)
• Tuning functions and procedures (SDO_TUNE package)
• Spatial utility functions (SDO_UTIL package)
• OGC Web Services [WMS, WFS, WCS, CSW, OpenLS)
• GeoJSON and Spatial JSON object support

• Linear referenced features, LRS, e.g. roads which store the distance along the road
• Network models, NDM, such as road networks, allowing rapid calculation of shortest paths
• Topological relationships can be stored, such as this property boundary touches this neighbouring boundary. Generally used by data producers wishing to edit high integrity spatial data
• Coordinate system support based on the European Petroleum Survey Group (EPSG) data model
• Explicit coordinate transformations
• WorkSpace manager for versioning, long transaction support
• GeoRaster Storage of images such as satellite and aerial photography
• A geocoder that translates address data to coordinate, a routing engine for street directions
• Some more complex spatial functions, mainly for analysis and data aggregation
• 3D data model for storing and managing 3D vector data, Triangualted Irregular Networks, TINs and Point Cloud data
• Web Services , WFS , CSW and OpenLS
• Integration with Oracle Application Server 11g MapViewer map visualization development tool

Example

Create a spatial table to store GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates:

CREATE TABLE gps (longlat MDSYS.SDO_GEOMETRY);

Register the spatial table:

INSERT INTO user_sdo_geom_metadata VALUES('GPS', 'LONGLAT',
        mdsys.sdo_dim_array(
        mdsys.sdo_dim_element('Long', -15, 25, 0.005),
        mdsys.sdo_dim_element('Lat', -35, -15, 0.005)), 8307);

Create a spatial index:

CREATE INDEX gps_ind ON gps(longlat) INDEXTYPE IS mdsys.spatial_index;

Load a record:

INSERT INTO gps VALUES (
   SDO_GEOMETRY(2003, 8307, NULL, SDO_ELEM_INFO_ARRAY(1, 1003, 1), SDO_ORDINATE_ARRAY(
          3428099223, -3.342E+09,
          3427750794, -3.342E+09,
          3427655045, -3.342E+09,
          3427548248, -3.342E+09,
          3427542723, -3.342E+09)));

Also see

• Spatial FAQ. frequently asked questions
• Locator,a scaled down "free" version of Oracle Spatial available prior to the inclusion of Oracle Spatial as a feature of Oracle Database for all editions in Dec. 2019.
• Mapviewer, Oracle's map rendering solution that is now renamed and included in the Oracle Spatial feature of Oracle Database.

External links

• Oracle's Spatial home page
• Oracle's Fusion Middleware MapViewer home page