pureXML in DB2


Almost all major relational database systems have been providing XML support for several years, predominantly by mapping XML to existing database objects such as large objects (LOBs) or (object-)relational tables. Limitations of these approaches are well known in the industry and research. Starting in verion 9.1, DB2 provides pureXML support which fully integrates XML in all layers of DB2.

Native XML storage


"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.