XML Database vs. MySQL Databases
Here are some thoughts:
Using an XML database is reportedly more efficient in terms of conversion costs when you’re constantly sending XML into and retrieving XML out of a database. The rationale is, when XML is the only transport syntax used to get things in and out of the DB, why squeeze everything through a layer of SQL abstraction and all those relational tables, foreign keys, and the like? It basically takes a parsing layer out of the application and brings it into the data engine – where it’s probably going to work faster and more efficiently than the SQL alternative. Probably.
I suspect some of these databases like XIndice, eXist, OZONE etc are perfectly wonderful products. But they haven’t been around so long and don’t elicit the kind of trust (from a jaded old dev like me) as a more legacy product like Oracle, MSSQL, or even MySQL.
I’ve worked with a system where the output of a SQL stored procedure was rendered natively in XML (using a MSSQL db), and I must admit it was quite elegant. Combined with the power of XSLT, the output of a database query can be transformed into anything you may imagine in only a few lines of procedural code (not including the XSLT itself).
I do not think an XML database can replace MySQL. MySQL is excellent at the things SQL does well – relational tables, joins, queries, sorting, indexing, creating paginated tabular rows. an XML database strikes me as a product you’d only use if your needs were a perfect fit, and XML is the only transport method you’ll ever be using.
What can I say… try one of the free ones and see how it goes.Related resources: Xhtml css Expert.com
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