Re: Dreaming About Redesigning SQL

>>>>> "Josh" == Josh Berkus <josh@agliodbs.com> writes:

This is an unfair characterization of XML databases, and I can say
this without accusations of bias for I vastly prefer working with the
relational model. 
   Josh> Actually, amusingly enough, there is a body of theory   Josh> backing XML databases, but it's not one any
currentdevloper   Josh> would want to admit to: the XML database is functionally   Josh> identical to the Network
Databasesof the 1960's.  Of   Josh> course, Network Databases gave way, historically, to   Josh> Relational for good
reason.

If you look at the academic research work, there have been gazillions
of recent papers on XML database technology. All the major database
vendors (Oracle, IBM and Microsoft) are investing fairly heavily in
core-engine XMLDB technology. 

Finally, while it is true that some of XML db technology is evocative
of network databases, XML databases are certainly more than network
databases. For one, they are semi-structure .. in addition they
present query language access to their data (although I'm not a big
fan of XQuery).

-- 
Pip-pip
Sailesh
http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~sailesh