Introduction

XML may very well be the wave of the future in the computing world, both with respect to applications programming on the Internet, and with that of database storage. In fact, XML is so flexible that it can even be used to transfer information between two completely different databases. Those databases could reside on different types of computers, even in multiple companies, and on opposite sides of the world.

As with all of my previous books, I strive to make something complex into something that is easy to understand. I make extensive use of examples. The idea is to make it an interesting read. Lots of examples and pretty pictures can help to keep things interesting. This type of approach can be useful to beginners but can sometimes also present new ideas to the more experienced eye. If you dont like books with lots of examples and pictures, or you are an expert in the subject matter, then this book may not suit your taste.

Who Should Read This Book

This book is for beginners, beginning with both XML and databases as a merged subject. Some XML knowledge can be gained from this book, as can some database knowledge. However, the focus of this book is on the combination of the topics of XML and databases.

The target audience of this book is anyone wishing to know brief details of XML and database technology, as applied to both XML and relational database technology working hand in hand.

Anyone involved with either XML or database technology, from the novice all the way through to the expert, would benefit from reading this book. This includes database administrators, developers, data modelers, systems or network administrators, technical managers, marketers, advertisers, forecasters, plannersanyone who actually uses XML and database data for any application type.