Guru's Guide to SQL Server™ Stored Procedures, XML, and HTML, The

ELEMENTS

The ELEMENTS option of the FOR XML AUTO clause causes AUTO mode to return nested elements instead of attributes. Depending on your business needs or those of your clients, element-centric mapping may be preferable to the default attribute-centric mapping. Here's an example of a FOR XML query that returns elements instead of attributes:

SELECT CustomerID, CompanyName
FROM Customers
FOR XML AUTO, ELEMENTS

(Results abridged and formatted)

 XML_F52E2B61-18A1-11d1-B105-00805F49916B --------------------------------------------------------------------------- <Customers> <CustomerID>ALFKI</CustomerID> <CompanyName>Alfreds Futterkiste</CompanyName> </Customers> <Customers> <CustomerID>ANATR</CustomerID> <CompanyName>Ana Trujillo Emparedados ...