Re: newby (very) question on XML DB theory

"Jan Hidders" <jan.hidders_at_REMOVETHIS.pandora.be> wrote in message news:CWXec.70566$IX6.4421683_at_phobos.telenet-ops.be...
> Dawn M. Wolthuis wrote:
> >
> > I'm still thinking that is not your best bang for the buck. I'm hoping
the
> > XML databases get to the point where their query language is as easy as
PICK
> > and have hope for them yet (in spite of those tags they drag along with
> > every value, ugh!)
>
> You think XQuery is too difficult?

I think it is a language for IT professionals and would like to see a standard "end-user query language." I'll admit that I haven't done enough work with XQuery to see just how simple one could make queries against a database by defining functions, virtual data, and "views" of the data so that the user need not think in terms of navigating. I realize that GUI's can be put "on top" of it as it is, but such a GUI would presumably be proprietary rather than a standard end-user tool for database access. Users who can ask their database now with a 40-year-old language by typing LIST COURSES WITH INSTRUCTOR_LAST_NAME LIKE "VAN..." (even though the instructor last name is not stored in the courses "file") might not find the comparable XQuery statement an advance in query languages. I'm optimistic that after I dig into it further it will become clearer to me how XQuery will really BE an advance. I DEFINITELY like the fact that it reads non-1NF data.

> By the way, what makes you think that
> in XQuery / XML databases you have to drag tags along with values?

I don't think you need to do so for XQuery, but I did think that was the case with XML databases, or at least that your input to and output from the databases using "read" and "writes" would retrieve XML documents. I haven't coded anything to use an XML database, so I could be completely wrong on that -- feel free to enlighten me. Thanks. --dawn Received on Wed Apr 14 2004 - 07:26:26 CEST