Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 14
Oracle Extended Datatypes
You might find that your data is diverse and extends beyond types of data typically found
in most relational databases. Specialty databases, such as object databases and XML
databases, emerged at various times to address these needs. As noted in
Chapter 10
,
Hadoop and the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) are popular as a data store
and engine for unstructured and semi-structured data today.
Where most of the data to be processed is structured, it can make sense to do the pro‐
cessing of all of the data in the relational database. Earlier in
Chapter 4
, we covered the
rich set of native datatypes in the Oracle database with a focus on what is required in
traditional relational databases. Oracle also provides datatypes that are specifically de‐
signed to provide optimal storage, performance, and flexibility for other types of data
—the focus of this chapter.
For example, object datatypes in Oracle can be used to represent purchase orders, claims
forms, shipping forms, and so on in a single unified entity. The XML datatype and
support for features such as XMLSchema, an XML DB repository (enabling URL-based
access to XML documents stored in Oracle), and SQL/XML (for generating XML docu‐
ments from SQL) extend Oracle's ability to blend the relational database with charac‐
teristics of an XML database. Location-oriented data may best be represented using
spatial coordinates stored in the Oracle database. Documents, images, video clips, and
audio clips have their own special requirements for storage and retrieval and Oracle
supports those as well.
Oracle extended the functionality of its basic relational database engine to support the
storage and manipulation of these nontraditional datatypes through the introduction
of additional features and options. By taking advantage of the extended types of data,
extended SQL that manipulates that data, and the Oracle Extensibility Architecture
framework, you will find even greater flexibility in how you might deploy and use the
Oracle database.
