Ravi Kothuri holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has been an active researcher and developer in the spatial and multimedia areas for the past 12 years. He serves as the project lead and software architect for various projects in Oracle Spatial. He has around 15 patents (some pending) on specific Oracle technology and has authored numerous articles for database conferences and journals. Other activities include teaching database courses for undergrads and reviewing of research articles for spatial and database conferences. Ravi enjoys music, movies, and playing with children.

Oracle Spatial is changing the way spatial information is used in organizations. This book addresses: (1) the special nature of spatial data and its role in professional and consumer applications, (2) the issues in spatial data management such as modeling, storing, accessing, and analyzing spatial data; (3) the Oracle Spatial solution and the integration of spatial data into enterprise databases; and (4) how spatial information is used to understand business and support decisions, to manage customer relations, and to better serve private and corporate users.

1 Overview.- 1 Spatial Information Management.- 2 Overview of Oracle Spatial.- 3 Location-Enabling Your Applications.- 2 Basic Spatial.- 4 The SDO_GEOMETRY Data Type.- 5 Loading, Transporting, and Validating Spatial Data.- 6 Geocoding.- 7 Manipulating SDO_GEOMETRY in Application Programs.- 3 Analysis and Visualization.- 8 Spatial Indexes and Operators.- 9 Geometry Processing Functions.- 10 Network Modeling.- 11 Generating Maps Using MapViewer.- 12 A Sample Application.- 4 Advanced Spatial.- 13 Case Studies.- 14 Tips, Common Mistakes, and Common Errors.- Appendix A Additional Spatial Analysis Functions.- Tiling-Based Analysis.- TILED_BINS.- TILED_AGGREGATES.- Neighborhood Analysis.- AGGREGATES_FOR_GEOMETRY.- AGGREGATES_FOR_LAYER.- Clustering Analysis.- SPATIAL_CLUSTERS.- Refining the Candidates for Site Selection.- Geometry Simplification for Speeding Up Analysis.- Summary.- Appendix B Linear Referencing.- Concepts and Definitions.- Measure.- Linear Referenced Segments.- Direction.- Shape Points.- Offset.- Typical Application.- Creating Linear Referenced Geometries.- SDO_GTYPE in LRS Geometries.- Constructing LRS Geometries.- Metadata.- Spatial Indexes and Spatial Operators on LRS Geometries.- Dynamic Segmentation Operations.- Clip a Segment.- Locate a Point.- Project a Point.- Validation of LRS Segments.- Dynamic Segmentation on 3D Geometries.- Other Operations.- Summary.- Appendix C Topology Data Model in Oracle.- Topology Data Model.- Benefits of the Topology Data Model.- Storing a Topology Data Model in Oracle.- Operating on a Topology in Oracle.- Creating a Topology.- Associating a Feature Layer with a Topology.- Inserting, Updating, and Populating Feature Layers.- Updating Topological Elements.- Querying for Topological Relationships.- Hierarchical Feature Model.-Summary.- Appendix D Storing Raster Data in Oracle.- SDO_GEORASTER Data Type.- Storage for SDO_GEORASTER Data.- Metadata in SDO_GEORASTER Data.- Populating SDO_GEORASTER Columns.- Manipulating Raster Objects.- Generating Pyramids.- Subsetting.- Georeferencing.- Visualizing Raster Data in Oracle MapViewer.- Summary.