DataDirect: Simplifying Data Integration with XQuery
The more companies attempt to connect their disparate systems in the enterprise, and the more success they have doing so using emerging technologies and approaches such as XML, Web Services, and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), the more they realize that simply getting systems to communicate is only half the problem. The other half is getting those systems to understand what they are saying to each other. While many people pin their hopes on abstract concepts such as semantic webs and ontologies, they require a more practical short-term solution to enable humans to map data structures between dissimilar systems.
Fortunately, the W3C standard XQuery has recently emerged as a robust technology that is well suited for common data integration needs. Rather than using proprietary data adapters, tightly-coupled integration middleware, or complex mapping technologies, the XQuery approach applies standards-based documents and general-purpose transformation engines to the problem of data integration. In this ZapNote, we explore XQuery and DataDirect XQueryTM as an illustration of this powerful technique in practice.