Post reply

DBMS += XML = ???

  • September 15, 2005 at 11:26 am

    #91191

    This might be off-topic for these boards a little bit, but I can't think of a better place to get an answer.

    I'm trying to find ideas for a research project that will take a look at "an improvement of a small, current database related technology with an emphasis on XML storage, indexing, query, parsing, or searching."

    Doesn't need to be MS SQL Server specific, so if anyone has ideas outside this perview they're welcome.

    Thanks in advance for any ideas.

    - Chris

  • September 15, 2005 at 11:35 am

    #590269

    First of all DBMS XML.

    XML is nice and all but it's like a 1950 DB model. But that's just my opinion and I don't really know on what you could expand your research.

  • September 15, 2005 at 12:31 pm

    #590294

    Gotta agree.  The folks who talk about XML as a data management technology are returning us to IMS and other pre-relational ideas.  Those concepts were displaced by relational ideas for good reason.

    A better, more generic, topic might be 'Support for complex domain types in relational database management systems'.

    Chris Date and Hugh Darwen have an extensive discussion of this their 'Third Manifesto' (ISBN 0-201-30978-5).

    Lotsa luck.

    And then again, I might be wrong ...
    David Webb

  • September 15, 2005 at 12:50 pm

    #590302

    I agree with both of you, but my professor picked the topic, and I'm just looking into doing this research project as an alternative to having to group with other students to work on a semester group project. It's a senior-level CS class on database concepts (basics) and I've been working with databases for about five years now. Needless to say, a group project will be umm... laboriously mundane? I took this class for an easy A. Looks like I'm going to have to buck up and just join a group and put up with DB n00bs .

  • September 16, 2005 at 8:15 am

    #590608

    To expand on RGR'us' thoughts, XML is even worse than the 1950's model, because the extra padding makes it take forever to punch out to paper tape.

    /rimshot

     

  • September 16, 2005 at 10:42 am

    #590670

    SET XFILES_MODE ON

    XML is a secret government plot (covered up by plausible deniabilty). The government owns major stakes, via clandestine channels, in all major disk manufacturers around the globe. Everyone in IT knows that XML causes your data volume to 'bloat' to 160% it's original size.

    SET XFILES_MODE OFF

     

     

    RegardsRudy KomacsarSenior Database Administrator"Ave Caesar! - Morituri te salutamus."

  • September 16, 2005 at 11:43 am

    #590695

    Crap. We forgot to answer the question.

    I'm not sure I can point you to anything definite.  You might look at systems that store X12 EDI documents in databases.  The X12 format is somewhat similar to XML, in that it is hierarchical.

    Once upon a time, I designed a clearinghouse that stored data that came from X12 input files, allowed for editing of the data, and selectively output back into X12 format.

    There were different approches taken, but the best-performing method was NOT to store blobs of data in the raw X12 form, but rather to break the documents into collections of similarly-structured element groups.

    The heirarchical relationships between element groups were preseved with 3 different "keys":

    1. Master key for all element groups that make up a document.  

    2. Sequence number to order the element groups for output.     

    3. Parent-child key.  The child would contain the RID for its parent.

    This would allow for very flexible querying, and high-performance input, and output.  I was able to use SQL 2000 DTS to directly read and write without any pre/post-processing

    hth and good luck 

    jg

  • September 16, 2005 at 1:25 pm

    #590734

    "Does anybody not have a group?"

    *I feebishly raise my hand.* So do two other people.

    So I'm in a group now, and will be doing the group project (a simple web-based system that makes use of a database in some way) instead of this alternate (solo) research project.

    I wasn't too enthused about the research project, but I really didn't want to have to put up with getting stuck with jerks for the group project. Every group project I've had to do I ended up pulling more than my share of the weight and there were people in the group that I wanted to punch in the face.

    Thanks for the replies guys.

  • September 19, 2005 at 2:27 pm

    #591135

    I agree 100000% (not a typo!) with the author of IS XML THE ANSWER ?

    You can get a point of view there and read the extensive discussions underneath it

    Good Luck!

     


    * Noel

Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply