Re: XML in PostgreSQL

Hi, I'm sending this again since it hasn't shown up on the list
(yet !). - Joel

On Thursday, February 27, 2003, at 12:11 , Dennis Gearon wrote:

> Are you trying to get some schema in Postgres database design to match
> some XML schema, or just store XML in Postgres?

Well, to store entire XML documents. So-called
'document-centric' XML. Things like articles, interviews, press
releases, photo essays, etc. And then be able to do X-Path (or
X-Path-like) queries on them.

I'm an absolute beginner on this issue. I was looking for a
solution to the implementation of a document publishing system
using Python & PostgreSQL, and this appears to be the right
direction.

Some of my reading for this :

Reading XML and Databases by Ronald Bourret : Storing Documents in BLOBs
http://www.rpbourret.com/xml/XMLAndDatabases.htm#blob

Persistence: SGML and XML in Databases
http://www.isgmlug.org/database.html

XML data management systems By Paul Sholtz
http://www.newarchitectmag.com/archives/2002/10/


> On Thursday, February 27, 2003, at 07:19 , Peter Eisentraut wrote:
>
> The main reason nothing is happening is that no one can really come up
> with the grand master design plan for this.  There's an SQL
> standard under
> development which addresses various ways to combine SQL and XML.  Once
> that is finished we have something to work with.  Incidentally, that
> standard depends on XQuery getting done first, so don't hold
> your breath.

The seemingly ceaseless stream of 'Working Draft' and 'Candidate
Recommendation' announcements from the W3C leaves me on the
verge of a hissy fit. Not to mentioned very confused.

Leaving aside what might come to be in the future, the reality
is that ways & means of dealing with XML right now in PostgreSQL
*are* needed and Gray's contrib/xml seems like a good start.

I imagine that a workaround is possible in PostgreSQL using the
idea mentioned in the articles cited above, of storing the XML
document in it's entirety in one table and using another table
as an 'index table'.

Cheer,
Joel