Complex Data Types
- Computer Science Department
As relational database adoption increased in the 1980s, the need for additional types became apparent. Ex: A spatial type might represent a single point as an X and Y value. Ex: A composite type representing a full name might contain three simple types representing first, middle, and last names. Newer types like spatial and composite have a rich internal structure and are called complex data types.
Most complex types fall into one of four categories:
Collection types include several distinct values of the same base type, organized as a set or an array.
Document types contain textual data in a structured format such as XML or JSON.
Spatial types store geometric information, such as lines, polygons, and map coordinates.
Object types support object-oriented programming constructs, such as composite types, methods, and subtypes.