XQuery Kick Start

Chapter 1. XML: The Foundation of XQuery

by James Linn

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Background

• What XML Offers

• Portable Data

• How XML Works

• The Evolution of XML

• The XML Family

• In Brief

Background

Since its first introduction, the Extensible Markup Language (XML) has generated extraordinary interest and support in the information technology world. It is a key part of Web Services and has become a major player in the Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) sphere. It is used by Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) programs to render scalable graphics in an application- and platform-independent manner. It is used by advanced browsers to produce Web pages. XML databases have been created specifically to store XML, and existing relational databases have been modified to store ...