Database Reference
In-Depth Information
C H A P T E R 7
Using XML
XML has been around for many years; with the release of the Microsoft .NET technology, XML has
become even more popular. Microsoft's development tools and technologies contain built-in features to
support XML. The advantage of using XML and its related technologies is that it is the major foundation
of both the Internet and .NET.
My goal in this chapter is to introduce you to the most essential XML concepts and terminology and
the basic techniques for using XML with SQL Server 2012. This will enable you to handle some common
programming tasks while writing a software application.
This chapter will cover the following:
•
Defining XML
•
Understanding why to use XML
•
Benefits of storing data as XML
•
Understanding XML documents
•
Understanding the XML declaration
•
Converting relational data to XML
•
Storing and retrieving XML documents using the
xml
data type
Defining XML
XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language. XML is derived from Standard Generalized Markup
Language (SGML). XML is a
metalanguage
. A metalanguage isn't used for programming but rather for
defining other languages, and the languages XML defines are known as
markup languages
. Markup is
exactly what it implies: a means of “marking up” something. The XML document is in the form of a text
document, and it can be read by both humans and computers.
