Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    Database Heavyweights Weigh In on XML Standard

    By
    Lisa Vaas
    -
    April 4, 2003
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Relational database heavyweights are pushing the XQuery standard for querying XML documents, with IBM and Microsoft Corp. expected to present a test suite for the standard to the W3C on Friday, and Oracle Corp. recently having posted a prototype of the standard on its site.

      The test suite IBM and Microsoft will present is considered an important milestone in finalizing a standard for querying XML data. If adopted by the W3C, the test suite will be used to check whether an XQuery implementation performs as standards dictate, thus ensuring that a given technology is portable across multiple applications that conform to the standard.

      Customers need that assurance as they increasingly begin to develop XML applications, said Nelson Mattos, IBMs director of information integration, in San Jose, Calif. “Customers want to have the protection on their investment,” he said. “We hear this constantly from customers that think XML technology is very strategic, but as theyre developing XML applications, they want to make sure theyre portable across multiple databases and platforms.”

      IBM has pledged that when the XQuery standard is finalized, the company will plug the search technology into its DB2 database product family. The products that would adopt XQuery include DB2 Information Integrator, a product that grew out of IBMs Xperanto initiative thats designed to unify, integrate and search scattered repositories and formats of historical and real-time information as if they were one database; DB2 Universal Database; and DB2 Content Manager.

      According to Mattos, WebSphere Business Integrator, the Informix database, and Business Intelligence products such as Intelligent Miner or the Red Brick Warehouse will also support XQuery when it becomes an official W3C recommendation.

      XML aficionados differ on how much the XQuery standard matters. Timothy Chester, senior IT manager and adjunct faculty member at Texas A&M University, in College Station, Texas, called it an “important step in a very small sandbox.” Chester uses XML for systems integration but doesnt query XML documents and thinks its unlikely that many will give up the tried-and-true structured language of relational databases for XML.

      “Make the case to me why this is so much better than the structured query language that weve used for 10 years and all my programmers know like its their second language,” he said. “Thats the case they need to make.”

      But to users like Lynn Kellar, director of the Enterprise Database Technology division of the Online Computer Library Center, in Dublin, Ohio, the test suite and the approach of an XQuery standard will have major impact.

      The OCLC is typical of the type of content publisher likely to be heavily invested in an XML querying standard. It is a global library cooperative with a mission to provide access to the worlds information and reduce library costs by offering services for libraries and their users. The organization runs its operations on Oracle9i databases. Those operations include 52 million records, transformed into XML last year, that detail information available in countries throughout the world.

      “We have 47,000 members in 82 countries,” Kellar said. “We have to be an open system. XQuery is another method to allow people into our system. There are library systems we use, but anything thats W3C-generated is important for us to support.”

      Standardization of XQuery is expected around years end, according to Oracle Corp. Senior Vice President of Server Technologies Andrew Mendelsohn. Oracle is a member of the W3Cs XML Query working group.

      Ratifying the XQuery test suite could take a few more months, according to an IBM spokesman, as the W3C brings it to the “Last Call” stage, where it will be presented for industry comment and review.

      Latest Stories by Lisa Vaas:

      Lisa Vaas
      Lisa Vaas is News Editor/Operations for eWEEK.com and also serves as editor of the Database topic center. Since 1995, she has also been a Webcast news show anchorperson and a reporter covering the IT industry. She has focused on customer relationship management technology, IT salaries and careers, effects of the H1-B visa on the technology workforce, wireless technology, security, and, most recently, databases and the technologies that touch upon them. Her articles have appeared in eWEEK's print edition, on eWEEK.com, and in the startup IT magazine PC Connection. Prior to becoming a journalist, Vaas experienced an array of eye-opening careers, including driving a cab in Boston, photographing cranky babies in shopping malls, selling cameras, typography and computer training. She stopped a hair short of finishing an M.A. in English at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She earned a B.S. in Communications from Emerson College. She runs two open-mic reading series in Boston and currently keeps bees in her home in Mashpee, Mass.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×