Efficient Storage of XML - A Comparative Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to predict the performance of XML storage in various real time scenarios. This study is a survey and comparative analysis of data storage using databases to store and retrieve XML, using Java objects representing XML and other storage mechanisms that may have not yet been explored. It also gives a high-level overview of how to use XML with databases or Java Objects and describes how the differences between data-centric and document-centric XML affect their usage, when used with databases and objects, and how XML is used with relational and object oriented databases, Java Objects, and the role of native XML databases (stand alone XML databases). A detailed comparative study on storage of XML using Relational DBMS, Native XML DBMS and processing into Java Objects using JAXB was conducted. The data models such as relational, hierarchical, document-driven were used as inputs to the study. There is no single tool that can manage all the aspects of XML data used in an application. Each technology provides interestingly unique features. There is a tremendous amount of research and development in progress, in the development of tools and technologies to use XML. It can be safely predicted that all the technologies will finally merge into one standard method of storage of XML that will incorporate all the features such as, faster searches, full-text searches, maintaining original document order, ability to maintain a collection of documents, ability to query and store or retrieve over the network using protocols such as HTTP, SOAP etc., provide integral support for casting of elements, support for processing valid and non-valid XML documents, all in a single tool. This study has successfully concluded that the most efficient way to store XML data lies in the context of its usage.