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Geometry Storage
To store geometric objects in relational databases, ArcSDE used industry standards to define the behavior of the geometric objects, the well-known exchange formats for the geometric object, and two different schemas for storing the geometric object as a value in a relational databases.

The different storage schemas supported by ArcSDE are:

  • The Binary geometry storage schema
  • The Geometry Type where the SQL type system is extended

These different storage schema are defined in abstract form by the standards organizations and may take advantage of DBMS specific data types. For example, the Binary storage schema may be implemented using any DBMS supported binary data type; the specification defines the binary type in the abstract.

DBMS and Geometry Storage Options
ArcSDE Support for Storage Mechanisms
Binary Geometry Schema
Conformance to Standards
SQL Spatial Type, Geometry Subtypes, and Functions

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