What is a geospatially-aware database and why should you care? - GIS & Location Technology podcast - Episode 4

Jun 16, 2006

At Farallon we receive a lot of questions about geodatabases, spatially aware databases, and in particular, about Oracle Spatial. In this episode we look at what it means for a database to be spatially-aware and what can it do for you as a geospatial professional.

Oracle Spatial is a database that understands geometries and how to operate on them using SQL.
It is particularly useful to organizations who already have in-house Oracle and SQL expertise.

An example is given where spatial business rules and spatial editing privileges can enhance data validity.

A second example discusses how web developers can use simple SQL queries to perform sophisticated GIS tasks without knowing much about the GIS information or logic itself.