|
Because XML and IMS™ databases are both hierarchical, IMS is a natural database management system for managing XML documents. IMS allows you to easily receive and store incoming XML documents as well as compose XML documents from existing, legacy information stored that is in IMS databases. For example, you can:
- Compose XML documents from all types of existing IMS databases, to support, for example, business-to-business on demand transactions and intra-organizational sharing of data.
- Receive incoming XML documents and store them in IMS databases. These databases can be legacy databases or new databases. XML documents are stored decomposed: the document is parsed and element data and attributes are stored in fields in segments as normal IMS data. This is appropriate for data-centric documents.
You can store XML documents decomposed, intact, or in a combination of decomposed and intact. In decomposed storage mode, the incoming document is parsed and element data and attributes are stored in fields as normal IMS data. Decomposed storage is appropriate for data-centric documents. In intact storage, the incoming document, including its tags, is stored directly in the database without IMS being aware of its structure. Intact storage is appropriate for document-centric documents. To store XML in an IMS database or to retrieve XML from IMS, you must first generate an XML schema and the IMS Java™ metadata class using the DLIModel utility. The metadata and schema are used during the storage and retrieval of XML. Your application uses the IMS Java JDBC user-defined functions storeXML and retrieveXML to store XML in IMS databases, create XML from IMS data, or to retrieve XML documents from IMS databases. View diagram.
| 
