Though also a recap on presentations of Oracle Open World 2006, where I pinpointed on XML and XMLDB sessions, now it is time to go a little bit further into these great new features that will be available in Oracle 11g regarding XMLDB functionality. One of the big steps forward to full exploitation of these features is the new Binary XML storage.
Until XMLDB one could make use of (C)LOB or varchar2 datatypes to store XML data, both have their limitations regarding storing XML. The introduction of the XMLType datatype / XMLDB features, formed the base of what has become full support of almost every W3C XML standard out there. This datatype allowed storing XML data via “Schema based” or “Schema Less” principles; with or without references to a XML Schema.
XML data can be stored / presented via the standard relational tables. This can be achieved for XMLType Views. If XML data is based on the XMLType data type then storage of XML data could result in Object Relational storage or CLOB storage. A mixture of the two is sometimes also possible and is called “Hybrid” storage. XML data can be stored in a column or as an XMLType table.
