Guru's Guide to SQL Server Architecture and Internals, The

Updategrams

Thus far, we've looked at how data can be retrieved from SQL Server in XML format, but we haven't talked about how to update SQL Server data using XML. Updategrams provide an XML-based method of updating data in a SQL Server database. They are basically templates with special attributes and elements that allow you to specify the data you want to update and how you want to update it. An updategram contains a before image and an after image of the data you want to change. You submit updategrams to SQL Server in much the same way as you submit templates. All the execution mechanisms available with templates work equally well with updategrams. You can POST updategrams via HTTP, save updategrams to files and execute them via URLs, and ...