I'm looking for Esri documentation that explicitly states that ArcGIS only supports a single geometry column per table.
Example:
In an Oracle ST_GEOMETRY polyline FC, I could technically add an extra geometry column via SQL, such as a SDO_GEOMETRY polyline column (essentially a duplicate geometry column, but it would let me use Oracle Spatial's linear referencing functions). But if I did that, the assumption is: it would cause problems in ArcGIS.
Where can I find info about that rule in the docs? I've looked, but haven't found anything yet.
https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/manage-data/geodatabases/feature-class-basics.htm
https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/manage-data/geodatabases/modeling-feature-classes.htm
Both state
A feature class is a collection of geographic features with the same geometry type (such as point, line, or polygon), a common set of attribute columns, and the same coordinate system.
Thanks. I updated the question so that it's clearer.
What I meant was, even if the two geometry columns were the same shape type (i.e., both could be polylines), and even if the lines in the two columns were exactly the same other than the spatial type, despite all that...I think the assumption is that ArcGIS will have problems if there are multiple geometry columns.
Your table or view must meet the following criteria to register it with the geodatabase:
- The field data types used in the table or view you register with the geodatabase must map to ArcGIS data types. If they do not, registration will fail. See DBMS data types supported in ArcGIS for a list of data types you can use.
- The table or view can contain only one spatial field.
- If the table or view contains a spatial field, it can store only one geometry type (such as point, line, or polygon).