Chapter 14. XML and SQL Server: Retrieving Data

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The process of preparing programs for a digital computer is especially attractive, not only because it can be economically and scientifically rewarding , but also because it can be an aesthetic experience much like composing poetry or music.

Donald Knuth ^[1]

^[1] Knuth, Donald. The Art of Computer Programming Vol. 1 Fundamental Algorithms . Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1997. Page v.

Thus far, we've used FOR XML AUTO to return SQL Server data in a basic XML format so that we could work with it from a Web browser. Transact-SQL's FOR XML syntax is much richer than this, though. It supports several options that extend its usefulness in numerous ways. In this chapter, we'll discuss a few of these and work through examples that illustrate them.

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