Native XML support in DB2 universal database

Abstract

The major relational database systems have been providing XML support for several years, predominantly by mapping XML to existing concepts such as LOBs or (object-)relational tables. The limitations of these approaches are well known in research and industry. Thus, a forthcoming version of DB2 Universal Database® is enhanced with comprehensive native XML support. "Native" means that XML documents are stored on disk pages in tree structures matching the XML data model. This avoids the mapping between XML and relational structures, and the corresponding limitations. The native XML storage is complemented with XML indexes, full XQuery, SQL/XML, and XML Schema support, as well as utilities such as a parallel high-speed XML bulk loader. This makes DB2 a true hybrid database system which places equal weight on XML and relational data management.