Oracle XMLDB XQuery Update in Database Release 11.2.0.3.0

I just made use of the very cool OTN Virtual Developer Day Database site. In this environment you can follow OTN Developer Day sessions, for example, at home, while making use of all the material available on that site plus the downloadable Virtualbox OTN Developer Day Appliance. Despite you can choose for tracks like Java, .Net, APEX, there is also a database section which handles (as you might expect it from me regarding interest) Oracle XMLDB functionality.

There is a 1 hour webcast available from Mark Drake, Oracle Product Manager, that takes you along all the basics / general overview (basic due too it is too extensive to show it in only an hour) of possibilities of Oracle XMLDB functionality. For convenience there is also a PDF document that has most of the slide info of the webcast. It doesn’t contain the demo’s or extra Virtualbox OTN Developer Day Appliance first steps info, of course, and what to do to reset the training XMLDB environment in this appliance.

This PDF and the webcast starts with the Oracle safeguard (legal disclaimer), with the general product outline slide saying among others that Oracle is not responsible or obliged to actually build-in features mentioned in that release or in that form…etc…so in that context it looks like…

The next release of Oracle 11.2.0.3.0 will contain the XQuery Update facility. With this in place, the XQuery language build-in the Oracle Database version since database version 10.2.0.1.0, will now come to its full extend supporting the whole range from not only SELECT functionality, but also REPLACE, UPDATE and DELETE functionality. In an SQL update statement you can make use of this by using the XQuery XMLQUERY operator to make full use of this XQuery Update Facility functionality. Of course it doesn’t have to be SQL, also the normal XQuery Oracle 11g operators can be utilized in JDBC/Java or other flavored environments or PL/SQL can now make use of this. Other means of XML interfacing would be in using the Native Database Web Service support, amongst others based on PL/SQL input, or via XQuery for Java (XQJ) means.

This also means that you now can use XQuery to its full potential, following the standard (or should I say “W3C Recommendation” – I am never sure if standard = recommendation but anyway…) and no longer have to use SQL/XML operators like updateXML(), insertChildXML() and other operators like them and go “full XQuery”.

Regarding recommendations… I really can, regarding the OTN Virtual Developer Day Database site. If you want to brush up your knowledge or start a new topic, this is really a good way to start. I know there are also OTN Developer Day sessions you can actually visit somewhere in your “neighborhood” or otherwise during the Hands-on Labs of the upcoming  Oracle Open World in San Francisco.

HTH

Marco