RE: [xml-dev] XML vs relational database

[Jim Melton <jim.melton@acm.org>]

The SQL standard certainly continues to define this set of views and 
tables (known as the Information Schema).  ISO/IEC 9075-11:2003 is 
the most recent edition, but a 2008 version is expected by 
mid-2008.  See your countries national standardization body for a 
copy or go to http://www.ansi.org and click on the Web Store link.

As Mike said, this has been available for a Very Long Time (it may 
seem like 20 years, but it was in the 1992 edition of the standard 
that the Information Schema came into being),

As a matter of fact, the call-level interface (CLI, of which ODBC is 
an implementation) defined in 9075-3:2003 (soon to be 2008) defines 
an API to get the same information without having to do all those 
annoying SELECTs ;^)

Hope this helps,
    Jim

At 8/16/2007 06:19 AM, Michael Kay wrote:
> > In a relational database, a standard query
> > allows to retreive data, but does not allow to investigate
> > the design of the database
>
>Not true. The SQL standard defines a standard set of tables that hold
>metadata, ie. information about tables and columns. At any rate, it did so
>about 20 years ago which was the last time I looked.
>
>Michael Kay
>http://www.saxonica.com/

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Jim Melton --- Editor of ISO/IEC 9075-* (SQL)     Phone: +1.801.942.0144
   Co-Chair, W3C XML Query WG; F&O (etc.) editor    Fax : +1.801.942.3345
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