The official review on XQuery — an XML-based language used to request data
from databases — began Tuesday, one week after rivals IBM and Oracle
submitted a Java Specification Request (JSR 225) for it to the Java Community Process (JCP).
XQuery bears some resemblance to Structured Query Language
the original database query language created in an IBM lab, but as XML
, Oracle
and other
software vendors have put their rivalries on the back burner, recognizing
the need for a new, open language to query databases.
IBM and Oracle will form an XQuery group, which
will include BEA, Sun, X-Hive, Sybase and DataDirect, and convene in July to
develop a Java XQuery application programming interface (API)
IBM discussed the need for XQuery in a public statement.
“Currently, placing queries to XML-tagged business information in databases
requires proprietary code that either doesn’t take full advantage of the XML
format, or cannot be used consistently. When XQuery is approved, vendors
that adhere to the standard will enable their products to work with related
products from any software developer.”
Oracle said it will handle the “proof of concept,” with IBM contributing a
compatibility kit — a suite of tests, tools, and documentation that proves
compliance with the specification.
As the other major database vendor, Microsoft has strong
interest in XQuery, too. In April, the software giant teamed with IBM to submit an
XQuery test suite to the World Wide Web Consortium, where the language is currently in working
draft to become a standard. But Microsoft hawks its own languages over Java,
and is not likely to support JSR 225.
The willingness for the three, fiercely competitive database vendors to work
on such an open, important standard highlights the importance of the
specification, which will allow the firms to build new products that help
customers tap XML-tagged business information in their databases.
The Java API for XQuery is expected to reach “Final Release” status soon
after XQuery becomes a “recommendation” from the W3C.