9. XML in the Database: The XML Data Type

SQL SERVER 2005 introduces a new scalar data type, the XML data type. XML is a first-class data type in SQL Server now, and this has a wide-ranging impact on the use of XML.

The XML Data Type

A new type of data has gained popularity in recent years: XML. XML has evolved from a simple data transfer format to a data model that includes its own schema-definition vocabulary, XSD, as well as query languages. In this chapter, we’ll look at the XML data type and see how it differs from conventional CLOB (character large object field, called TEXT field in SQL Server) storage of an XML document.

You can use the XML data type like any other data type in SQL Server. It can be used in the following ways:

• As a column ...

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