Special Edition Using XML, Second Edition

XML and Databases—Introduction to the History of Their Relationship

After the initial XML 1.0 specification in January 1998, a number of companies started offering various mechanisms to input or process XML data into their corresponding databases. These have taken a long time to mature to stable products that can be used for real-world applications. Implementations that are doing a lot of real-world problem solving have only been available for the past year or so.

XML and databases are often needed for complex messaging that takes place between enterprise applications. XML can assist in abstracting the complexities of the communication. XML's hierarchical structure allows for an infinite number of permutations of the XML message to be constructed. ...