Oracle Using SDO JOIN

When joining tables based on their topological relationship it is possible to use SDO_RELATE, however, SDO_RELATE seems better suited to filter or find values in a table whereas SDO_JOIN should be used when joining tables:

Source:

• http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/B19306_01/appdev.102/b14255/sdo_operat.htm#BGEDJIBF

An example of joining an AREA and POINT table:

SELECT /*+ ordered */
  a.ID
  , p.ID  
FROM TABLE(SDO_JOIN(
  'AREA', 'GEOMETRY', 
  'POINT', 'GEOMETRY', 
  'mask=ANYINTERACT')) pa
  , AREA a
  , POINT p
WHERE pa.rowid1 = a.rowid
  AND pa.rowid2 = p.rowid
  ;