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Re: Verboseness - XML Syntax for XQuery 1.0 (XQueryX)



Dylan Walsh writes:
 
"However this XML Syntax below is such
that it is unlikely to be used for hand written querys.

Could they not have a version with normal XPath and perhaps provide a return syntax which is similar to an XSLT template body? I think they should strive to make XQuery consistent with XSLT rather than SQL."
A few comments ...
 
First, I would guess that the major use for XQueryX will not be "hand written queries", but for queries written by programs that use XML tools, especially the DOM API or XSLT.  I don't have a concrete example in mind, but can imagine that it would be convenient for many to program a query as an XML document that can be validated against the XQueryX schema.  I can more easily imagine scenarios when one would want to parse the XQueryX syntax using an XML tool to, for example, route it to the appropriate query engine, or to add/delete/modify the query before processing it.  Of course all this *could* be done with string processing and the BNF grammar of XQuery itself ... but this can be said for almost any XML application -- much of XML's value comes simply from the fact that it is standardized, so you don't have to define your own grammar, parser, API, validator, transformation engine, etc.
 
If this particular XML syntax is annoyingly verbose and can be readily improved, please make concrete suggestions to the XQuery working group.  That is, after all, the whole point of these early public working drafts. I share the sense that as much as I like the idea of an XML syntax for XQuery in principle, seeing the Q13 example makes me wonder if this is really practical.
 
Finally, on the question of whether XQuery should be more SQL-like than XSLT-like, I think that question is moot:  XSLT *is* a fairly reasonable query language, and those who are happy with it will probably be able to get along without XQuery. The whole point of XQuery (as I see it) is to provide those who need it with a more SQL-like XML query language.