Chapter 12. Introduction to XML

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He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils for time is the greatest innovator.

Francis Bacon ^[1]

^[1] Bacon, Francis. The Essays , New York:Penguin, 1985. Page 132.

I'm including an introductory chapter on XML in this book for two reasons. One, because XML is now a core component of SQL Server, I think it deserves to be covered in books that cover SQL Server. Two, many Transact-SQL programmers are new to XML, and understanding how XML works is fundamental to understanding not only the other chapters in this book that cover XML, but also the current and future course that SQL Server is taking.

Unfortunately, there isn't time or space to discuss XML as completely as I'd like to. Whole books (many of them, in fact) have been written on the subject of XML and the XML family of technologies. I'll try to hit the high points of what you need to know about XML to be able to use SQL Server's XML- related features. That said, you should probably supplement the coverage here with research of your own. See the "Further Reading" section later in the chapter for some recommended resources.

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