How do I get XML into or out of a database?

XML Interview Questions and Answers

(Continued from previous question...)

37. How do I get XML into or out of a database?

Ask your database manufacturer: they all provide XML import and export modules to connect XML applications with databases. In some trivial cases there will be a 1:1 match between field names in the database table and element type names in the XML Schema or DTD, but in most cases some programming will be required to establish the desired match. This can usually be stored as a procedure so that subsequent uses are simply commands or calls with the relevant parameters.
In less trivial, but still simple, cases, you could export by writing a report routine that formats the output as an XML document, and you could import by writing an XSLT transformation that formatted the XML data as a load file.

(Continued on next question...)

Other Interview Questions

• How do I include one XML file in another?
• How can I declare XML namespaces so that all elements and attributes are in their scope?
• Where should I use XML?
• Why should I use XML?
• How can I make my existing HTML files work in XML?
• How are universal names represented?
• Why is XML such an important development?
• Do XML namespaces apply to entity names, notation names, or processing instruction targets?
• How do I use the default XML namespace to refer to element type names in an XML namespace?
• What's a Document Type Definition (DTD) and where do I get one?
• More...