Chapter 5: Oracle Database and XML

Overview

There is immense capability in Oracle Database and Oracle SQL for utilizing the power of XML. This chapter covers XML only as it directly relates to Oracle SQL. In other words, you examine how XML documents can be created, accessed, and manipulated directly from within Oracle SQL and Oracle Database. You are presented with various specialized techniques and facilities available to Oracle Database.

Oracle Database software can be downloaded from http://www.oracle.com and purchased on CD-ROM (for a nominal shipping and handling fee) on a trial basis. You can attempt all the examples in this chapter. There are no Try It Out sections in this chapter as specific database soft ware may not necessarily be available to you at the time of reading this book. Reading this book is not dependent on your having software for any particular database.

In this chapter you learn about:

• The XMLType data type for storing XML documents within an Oracle database

• The methods available to the XMLType data type

• Creating XML documents using various tools

• How XML documents can be created from Oracle Database tables using SQL/XML, the SYS_XMLGEN function, and various methods using PL/SQL

• Adding XML document data to an Oracle Database table

• Scanning through and retrieving data from XML data stored in an Oracle database

• Changing the content of XML data stored in an Oracle database