When to Use XML and When Not to Use It
In Chapter 4, you braved the waters of abstract data modeling, so now it's time to get concrete. Building your XML DTD is the next step in data-oriented application design.
The first question you must ask, while looking at your abstract data model diagram from Chapter 4 (see Figure 4-7) is “Where doesn't XML fit?” Identify the parts of your data model that make more sense as purely relational entities. Such parts usually are supporting data, such as key words and author names. For example, in CyberCinema there's no reason to list valid reviewers in an XML file. The reviewers and details about them (for example, names and e-mail addresses) can be stored in a relational table. The reviews themselves are best ...
Get XML and SQL: Developing Web Applications now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
