XML and SQL Server 2000

This book is organized into eight chapters.

Chapter 1, "XML," discusses the Extensible Markup Language (XML). Included in this chapter is a comprehensive discussion of Document Type Definitions (DTDs) and the new specification of XML schema. A discussion of Microsoft's Extended Data Reduced (XDR) Schema is held until Chapter 5, "Creating XML Views with XDR Schemas," where it is more appropriate.

Chapter 2,"XSLT Stylesheets," discusses the Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT).This language specifies how XML documents can be altered to HTML documents or other XML documents by the application of stylesheets.

Chapter 3, "IIS and Virtual Directories," is a do-it-yourself chapter in which the reader performs the setup procedure that enables SQL Server 2000 to process XML URL requests and template files. The chapter is a preparation for the detailed discussions in the succeeding chapters.

Chapter 4,"Accessing SQL 2000 via HTTP," provides a general discussion of several common client/server architectures. It discusses the following capabilities of SQL Server:

• Accepting SQL queries via an URL and then generating XML documents as the query results

• Processing SQL template files to produce the documents

• Utilizing stored procedures to accomplish the same result as processing template files

Chapters 5, "Creating XML Views with XDR Schemas," covers Microsoft's Extended Data Reduced (XDR) schemas in detail. It then introduces Microsoft's BizTalk Framework and provides examples. In closing, the chapter discusses XDR Schema Annotations and schema data types to complete Microsoft's differences with the W3C standard.

Chapter 6, "Using XPath Queries," presents an in-depth canvass of the XPath navigation language and its relation to providing results in XML format. A relatively large portion of this chapter is dedicated to implicit and explicit data type conversions. It also presents the data type differences between the XPath language and Microsoft's XDR schemas along with conversion processes between the two.

Chapter 7, "FOR XML," discusses the new extension to the SQL SELECT statement, FOR XML, which allows complete control of the hierarchy of elements in the generated XML document. A thorough canvass of its three modesRAW, AUTO, and EXPLICITdemonstrates the varying degrees with which the developer can control XML document generation.

Chapter 8, "OPENXML," discusses the last SQL extension, OPENXML. The OPENXML keyword causes an XML document to be presented as a data source similar to a view or a table. This enables data from XML documents to be entered into SQL Server tables.

The appendixes provide a reference section covering various topics in the text:

• Appendix A, "Northwind Database Schema," presents a complete breakdown of all tables in the Northwind database, which is the sample database employed throughout the text.

• Appendix B,"XSLT Instructions with Reference to Text Usage," is an index to all the XSLT elements in the text.

• Appendix C, "XPath Functions and Examples," provides a description of the major XPath functions along with a sample usage of each.

• Appendix D, "Microsoft XML Data Types," provides a listing and explanation of all XML data types.

• Appendix E, "Resources," provides a thorough resource listing of reference Web sites for further research.

• Appendix F, "IBM's XSL Editor," is an introduction to IBM's XSL Editor, the XSLT learning tool utilized in the text.

• Appendix G, "Microsoft's SQL Server XML View Mapper," is an introduction to Microsoft's XML View Mapper, a visual tool to create mapping schemas.