Julie Basu Senior Development Manager Nirav Chanchani Senior Product Manager Oracle Corporation

Heterogeneous XML-based Data Integration Using XQuery, J2EE TM, and Database Technologies Session id: 40258

Presentation Agenda  Business Problem  XML-based Data Integration  Querying with XQuery  Building Applications using the J2EE TM Platform  Leveraging the XML Database  Demonstration  Next Steps

Business Problem  Multiple domain-specific applications – Manufacturing, Inventory, Supply Chain, Financial, …  Information is trapped within these applications How does an organization get a consolidated view of its information – in real time ? CRM Application Financial Application Contract Management Application Synthesized Information Order Management Application Shipping and Distribution Application

Technical Challenges  Domain-specific information – Replication does not make sense  Independent operation of applications – Access to information has to be in real-time  Different access method for each application – Each application has its own protocol and access method What architecture can best accommodate my present and future needs ? – Complexity: Avoid the n by m matrix – Flexibility: Add new sources easily – Time to market: Within days, not months

Presentation Agenda  Business Problem  XML-based Data Integration  Querying with XQuery  Building Applications using the J2EE TM Platform  Leveraging the XML Database  Demonstration  Next Steps

What is XML-based Data Integration? XML-based Data Integration or Enterprise Information Integration (EII):  Create aggregated views using XQuery  Get information from diverse sources in XML  Consume synthesized information

DatabaseWeb Service J2EE TM CA JDBCHTTP XQuery Engine Order Tracking Shipment Tracking XML Data Integration Example Synthesized Information EIS Parts Inventory

XML-based Data Integration J2EE TM Platform Technologies Involved  Why XML? – Different data formats  Why XQuery ? – Declarative way to query XML documents  Why J2EE TM ? – Standards-based infrastructure platform  Why XML Database ? – Native XML storage – XML data management – Performance optimizations XML Database XQuery Engine

Comparison with Existing Technologies DifferenceSimilarity Application Integration More about data pumping and synchronization among systems Involves data adapters, data translation and transformation Data Warehousing Explicit ETL steps required; large data volume; batch loading, not real-time Optional cache pre-population step similar to the “loading” step Traditional Report Generation SQL & relation-based vs. XQuery & XML-based Focus is on report formatting and delivery Query-based

Presentation Agenda  Business Problem  XML-based Data Integration  Querying with XQuery  Building Applications using the J2EE TM Platform  Leveraging the XML Database  Demonstration  Next Steps

What is XQuery?  Query XML Documents  FLWOR expression: – For: similar to SQL “from” clause – Let: declaring a variable – Where: similar to SQL “where” clause – Order by: similar to SQL for sorting – Return: similar to SQL “select” clause  Operations – Filtering – Transformation – Joining

XQuery Sample Code { for $i in document("catalog.xml")//item, $p in document("parts.xml")//part[partno = $i/partno], $s in document("suppliers.xml")//supplier[ suppno = $i/suppno] order by $p/description, $s/suppname where $i/price < 1000 return { $p/description, $s/suppname, $i/price } }

Advantages of XQuery  Declarative view definition – Less programming  Query optimization – Just like SQL, XQuery engine optimizes queries  Lower cost of code maintenance – Less code when compared to DOM or SAX

What’s New in XQuery?  Different from XSLT, not re-inventing wheel – Document ordering – Rules matching vs. nested SQL-like queries  XQuery 1.0 goals – Read-only, no transaction semantics, no security – Update capability not there yet  XQuery runtime – Could be in middle tier, database, or a hybrid

Presentation Agenda  Business Problem  XML-based Data Integration  Querying with XQuery  Building Applications using the J2EE TM Platform  Leveraging the XML Database  Demonstration  Next Steps

Oracle Application Server 10g - The J2EE TM Platform Building applications using J2EE TM services in Oracle Application Server 10g  Data Source Access  Client Access  Caching  Security

J2EE TM Data Sources  Different types of data sources with varying access protocols and APIs – Data sources : Applications, RDBMS, Documents, Message Queues, Proprietary – Access mechanisms: JDBC, J2EE TM CA, Web Services, JMS, File I/O – Translation mechanisms: Oracle’s XML-SQL utility for JDBC result set, other

J2EE TM Client Access Programmatic client access  XQuery Java API is being standardized in Java Community Process – JSR 225: Oracle and IBM leads  Higher-level APIs: EJB, Web Services, J2EE TM CA, JSP tag library

XML Data Caching Cache data from sources and results  Choices: In memory, file, or database  Benefits: Better Performance – Decrease data fetching cost – Reduce latency of unreliable or remote sources – Eliminate re-execution of queries  Costs: Need to keep cached data fresh – Set expiration time for cached info – Invalidate or refresh upon update, e.g., DB triggers

Data Source & Cache Security  Delegate security checking to sources – For SQL / JDBC data source use JAAS – For J2EE TM CA leverage the Principal Mapping and Custom Login module  Security of cached data - poses additional risk! – Require login / authentication before cache access – Use JAAS to enforce cache access policies

Presentation Agenda  Business Problem  XML-based Data Integration  Querying with XQuery  Building Applications using the J2EE TM platform  Leveraging the XML Database  Demonstration  Next Steps

Oracle XML Database (XML DB)  Native XML storage – Available since Oracle Database Release 9.2  Inherits RDBMS features: Security, Transaction,…  XML-specific features – XML indexing, XPath & XSLT support, XML schema validation, XML partial update  Supports SQL/XML – Allows blending relational and XML data operations

Leveraging Oracle XML DB  XML DB can be an XQuery source – Can define XML views of relational data – XQuery engine can rewrite query into SQL/XML  XML DB could also be used for caching – Efficient storage & indexing for large data sets  Can leverage security framework of XML DB – For both source and cache

What about Standards?  Most components based on existing standards: XML-based, J2EE TM -based  Oracle is helping to move standards forward: – Query APIs  XQuery Java API: JSR 225 Oracle and IBM leads  XML Extension to JDBC: JSR 114 – XML metadata API to enhance usability  Candidate technology: CCI in J2EE TM CA

D E M O N S T R A T I O N

Summary  What? – Get information from diverse sources in XML – Join, filter and transform data by XQuery – Apply Caching and Security appropriately – Consume synthesized information  Why? – Real-time information access and synthesis – Productivity: Quick development cycle, low code maintenance cost

Next Steps ….  See the solution in action at Oracle DEMOGrounds! – At the Oracle Application Sever 10g booth - Simplify Information Integration  Relevant web sites – OTN:  Contact information – Product Manager:

A Q & Q U E S T I O N S A N S W E R S

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