It allows storage and manipulation of both spatial and attribute data in a single database. By effectively managing spatial and attribute data in one physical database, Oracle8 Spatial Cartridge reduces processing overhead and eliminates the complexity of coordinating and synchronizing disparate sets of data. The seamless information framework provided by Oracle8 Spatial Cartridge results in lower training fees, improved learning curves, fewer design and programming iterations, and more efficient data administration. This technology, based on an advanced indexing technique, maintains the inherent organization of spatial data within the database itself. A polygon with a hole can geographically represent a parcel of land surrounding a patch of wetlands.
Spatial data is modeled in layers, all defined by the same object space and coordinate system.
For example, the spatial representation of a city might include separate layers for outlines of political districts or socio-economic neighborhoods, every business and domestic location, and the maze of water, gas, sewer, and electrical lines. Because all these layers share a common object space, they can be related through their spatial locations. Spatial Cartridge introduces spatial indexing to relational databases. Each layer is subjected to quad-tree decomposition, creating a mosaic of covering tiles for the geometrically represented data. A binary representation of the tile is then stored in the spatial index.