SDE 9.2 and ESRI's ST_GEOMETRY datatype for Oracle
At version 9.2 of ArcSDE (or as it's now called ArcGIS Server Basic) ESRI got with the program and added a new data type - ST_GEOMETRY - to Oracle that caters for the storage of spatial data. Of course, you have been able to run ArcSDE on top of Oracle Spatial (and its own ST_GEOMETRY data type) for sometime (also DB2 and Informix). I don't want to get too much into the pros and cons but needless to say it's great to see ESRI finally allow a standards-compliant way to store spatials within a database.
To quote ESRI:
ArcSDE for Oracle offers an geometry storage type that provides ISO and OGC compliant SQL access to the geodatabase. This storage extends the capabilities of the Oracle database by providing storage for objects (points, lines, and polygons) that represent geographic features. It was designed to make efficient use of Oracle database resources; to be compatible with Oracle database features such as replication and partitioning; and to provide rapid access to spatial data. (reference)
Now for the best part: ESRI's ST_GEOMETRY allows you to access your spatial data via OGC's Simple Feature Access for SQL. Accessing ESRI-flavoured spatial data via plain old SQL is what I've been waiting for for a very long time!
At work, we have made the push to use ST_GEOMETRY as our standard data type (instead of sdebinary) for our spatial data and are looking at all the areas this will add real value.
Soon I'll post some examples of what you can do with ST_GEOMETRY and all the power you can unleash!