NYCPHP Meetup

[Elliotte Harold]

Kenneth Downs wrote:

> Not a chance.  There is no such thing as a native XML database and there 
> never will be because XML is a file format (oops, data format), and an 
> extremely inefficient one at that.  To have a native database you need a 
> data model.  XML uses the hierarchical model and if you're going to 
> build a native hierarchical database you sure wouldn't use the wasteful 
> XML format internally to store the data.
> 
> And if you insist on using XML just because its so wonderful to use 17 
> characters to store the state <STATE>NY</STATE>, it will never be able 
> to compete with even the most immature relational engines for pure 
> speed.  Maybe on example and toy sites, but never for anything that 
> needs to scale.
> 
> If I'm wrong, dinner's on me.
> 

Which part do you have to be wrong about for me to get a free dinner? I 
can already give you several existence proofs demonstrating that there 
is such a thing as a native XML database:

http://www.marklogic.com/
http://exist.sourceforge.net/

More are coming.

-- 
Elliotte Rusty Harold  elharo at metalab.unc.edu
Java I/O 2nd Edition Just Published!
http://www.cafeaulait.org/books/javaio2/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0596527500/ref=nosim/cafeaulaitA/