Client applications can use a VARCHAR to insert a value into an MBR column. The VARCHAR must have the following format:
(xmin, ymin, xmax, ymax)
where white space can appear anywhere.
For queries that select data from an MBR column, the database returns the MBR data as a VARCHAR(256) using the same format (xmin, ymin, xmax, ymax).
Consider the following definition of a table that defines an MBR column.
CREATE TABLE sample_MBRs (skey INTEGER, shape_mbr MBR);
A query that selects data from the shape_mbr column results in the database returning the column data as a VARCHAR(256):
SELECT * FROM sample_MBRs; SKEY SHAPE_MBR -------- ------------- 1001 (10, 3, 22, 7)