We have developed a product that will do just that with IB - it will be
available from early April - others will follow.

Herewith part of the press release ...... What sets Spatial Data Sharer
apart from competitive offerings, is its ability to store spatial data in
the user’s existing database - other products require that the user purchase
a proprietary database in addition to the data sharer. This data sharer
allows data to be stored in one database, enabling a company to administer
all of its spatial data from one central location.

Where vector-based data is used, a common shortcoming in terms of
traditional spatial data storage, is the tendency of CAD and GIS systems to
save spatial data in their own, proprietary, binary file formats. These
formats are not especially network friendly, are often unpublished so that
the user’s data is hidden from him or her, and don’t allow more than one
user to work on the same drawing file. Spatial Data Sharer, on the other
hand, publishes its formats and allows two or more users to work with the
same spatial data at the same time. Moreover, because it works much like a
database, when one user updates spatial data, the updated version is
instantly available to all users on the network.

Most spatial data systems also keep vector data in external files and not as
part of the corporate relational database management system, making
administration of the database that much more difficult. Spatial Data
Sharer stores all spatial data in one location, so for example, a map and
all of its layers can be kept in one place and the user can manage the map
content, specifying which layers should be included. Finally, whereas
certain binary file formats limit the maximum size of a drawing or map,
Spatial Data Sharer sets no such limits.

Regards
Ant

Bryan Harper wrote:

> From: "Bryan Harper" <BHarper@...>
>
> Hi all,
>
> Has any there been any discussion about the implementing spatial
> objects in future releases of InterBase? The reason I ask is that
> Oracle 8i "natively" supports spatial objects and I would like to
> have or be able to suggest possible alternatives.
>
> Let me explain what I mean by spatial objects. Basically what I am
> talking about is storing data for GIS(Geographic Information System)
> applications. For a better explanation and more details (from an
> Oracle point of view) see http://www.oracle.com/da
> tabase/options/spatial/index.html.
>
> Thank you
>
> Bryan
>
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