Re: Re: From TODO, XML?

> I have been fighting, for a while now, with idiot data vendors that think XML
> is a cure all. The problem is that XML is a hierarchical format where as SQL is
> a relational format.
> 
> It would be good to get pg_dump to write an XML file and DTD, but getting
> external sources of XML into PostgreSQL is WAY more complicated. If an XML
> import is to be useful beyond just a different format for pg_dump, there has to
> be some intelligent database construction based on the XML information.
> 
> Go to mp3.com, and download some of their XML format data, first, it is bad
> XML, second, it is hierarchical.
> 
> I have managed to get several XML files into PostgreSQL by writing a parser,
> and it is a huge hassle, the public parsers are too picky. I am thinking that a
> fuzzy parser, combined with some intelligence and an XML DTD reader, could make
> a very cool utility, one which I have not been able to find.
> 
> Perhaps it is a two stage process? First pass creates a schema which can be
> modified/corrected, the second pass loads the data.

Can we accept only relational XML.  Does that buy us anything?  Are the
other database vendors outputting heirchical XML?  Are they using
foreign/primary keys to do it?

--  Bruce Momjian                        |  http://candle.pha.pa.us pgman@candle.pha.pa.us               |  (610)
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