Early Adopter Xquery

Working its way towards Recommendation status in 2002, the XQuery language and associated specifications are the biggest project to date from the W3C since it ratified XML in 1998. XQuery is to XML data as SQL is to data in relational databases and more - a single syntax that allows you to specify queries on structured XML data, independent of how and on what platform it is stored, and return the results as XML in a structure of your choosing. It is also one of the first large scale attempts to get the various W3C specifications in line with each other, uniting the XSL, XQuery and XML Schema groups in its creation. Early Adopter XQuery presents the facts about this ambitions new technology, covering its history and development to date, and what changes might occur in the future before it is ratified. We present easy-to-follow introductions to the XQuery language for those already familiar with SQL and XSLT that others can follow too and a look at the early implementations of XQuery that exist around the Internet. In particular, we look at .NET and Java classes which you tan use to incorporate XQuery into your own work. Who is this book for? This book is for database and XML developers, preferably with a knowledge of SQL or XSLT, who want to get familiar with and keep track of what will be an industry standard once complete. This book was written against the December 2001 working draft, but the generic nature of the book means that it should be valid through to Recommendation status. XQuery is platform-independent and we have reflected this in the book by not limiting our discussions to any one operating system. What does this book cover? The History of XQuery; XQuery Basics; XQuery from a SQL perspective; XQuery from an XSLT/XML perspective; Building XQuery into .NET and Java applications.