Oracle Compliance with SQL/XML:2005

At the time of the release of this documentation, a new edition of SQL/XML, to be known as SQL/XML:2005, is expected but not yet available in final form. This section reflects our best understanding, based on preliminary drafts and accepted change proposals. However, it is not based on the final form of SQL/XML:2005.

The XML datatype in the standard is XML. The Oracle equivalent datatype is XMLType. We consider a feature of the standard to be fully supported if the only difference between Oracle and the standard is the spelling of the datatype name.

Table B-8 lists the XML features of the standard that are fully supported by Oracle.

Table B-8 Fully Supported Features of SQL/XML:2005

Feature ID	Feature
X010	XML type
X016	Persistent XML values
X020	XML Concatenation
X031	XMLElement
X032	XMLForest
X034	XMLAgg
X035	XMLAgg: `ORDER BY` option
X036	XMLComment
X036	XMLPi
X041	Basic table mapping: null absent
X042	Basic table mapping null as nil
X043	Basic table mapping: table as forest
X044	Basic table mapping: table as element
X045	Basic table mapping: with target namespace
X046	Basic table mapping: data mapping
X047	Basic table mapping: metadata mapping
X049	Basic table mapping: hex encoding
X060	XMLParse: Character string input and `CONTENT` option
X061	XMLParse: Character string input and `DOCUMENT` option
X070	XMLSerialize: Character string serialization and `CONTENT` option
X071	XMLSerialize: Character string serialization and `DOCUMENT` option
X072	XMLSerialize: Character string serialization
X086	XML namespace declarations in XMLTable
X120	XML parameters in SQL routines
X121	XML parameters in external routines
X201	XMLQuery: `RETURNING` `CONTENT`
X203	XMLQuery: passing a context item
X204	XMLQuery: initializing an XQuery variable
X221	XML passing mechanism `BY` `VALUE`
X251	Persistent XML values of `XML`(`DOCUMENT`(`UNTYPED`)) type
X252	Persistent values of type `XML`(`DOCUMENT`(`ANY`))
X256	Persistent values of `XML`(`DOCUMENT`(`XMLSCHEMA`)) type
X302	XMLTable with ordinality column
X303	XMLTable: column default option
X304	XMLTable: passing a context item
X305	XMLTable: initializing an XQuery variable

Note to Table B-8: Features X041 through X047, basic table mappings: Oracle table mappings are available through a Java interface and through a package. Oracle table mappings have been generalized to map queries and not just tables. To map only a table: SELECT * FROM table_name.

Table B-9 lists the features of SQL/XML:2005 that are partially supported.

Table B-9 Partially Supported Features of SQL/XML:2005

Feature ID, Feature	Partial Support
X040, Basic table mapping	Oracle supports the following elements of this feature: X041, Basic table mapping: null absent X042, Basic table mapping: null as nil X043, Basic table mapping: table as forest X044, Basic table mapping: table as element X045, Basic table mapping: with target namespace X046, Basic table mapping: data mapping X047, Basic table mapping: metadata mapping X049, Basic table mapping: hex encoding Oracle does not support the following element of this feature: X048, Basic table mapping: base64 encoding
X060, "XMLParse: character string input and `CONTENT` option	Oracle does not support the {`PRESERVE` \| `STRIP`} `WHITESPACE` syntax. The behavior is always `STRIP` `WHITESPACE`.
X200, XMLQuery	Oracle fully supports the following elements of this feature: X201, XMLQuery: `RETURNING` `CONTENT` X203, XMLQuery: passing a context item X204, XMLQuery: initializing an XQuery variable Oracle does not support the following elements of this feature: X202, XMLQuery: `RETURNING` `SEQUENCE` { `NULL` \| `EMPTY` } `ON` `EMPTY` syntax. Mandatory `BY` {`REF` \| `VALUE`} in the `PASSING` clause. (Oracle supports only value semantics.)
X300, XMLTable	Oracle does not support reverse axes in the column path expressions. Aside from that restriction, Oracle fully supports the following elements of this feature: X086, XML namespace declarations in XMLTable X302, XMLTable with ordinality column X303, XMLTable: column default option X304, XMLTable: passing a context item X305, XMLTable: initializing an XQuery variable Oracle does not support the following elements of this feature: X301, XMLTable: derived column list option Mandatory `BY` {`REF` \| `VALUE` } in the `PASSING` clause. Oracle supports only `BY` `VALUE` semantics currently.

Table B-10 lists the features of SQL/XML:2005 that are supported through equivalent functionality in Oracle:

Table B-10 Equivalent Functionality for SQL/XML:2005 Features

Feature ID, Feature	Equivalent Functionality
X011, Arrays of XML Types	In Oracle, array types must be named, whereas in the standard they are anonymous.
X012, Multisets of XML type	The Oracle equivalent of a multiset of XML type is a nested table with a single column of XML type.
X013, Distinct types of XML	A distinct type can be emulated using an object types with a single attribute.
X014, Attributes of XML type	In Oracle, attributes of object types may be of type `XMLType`, but the syntax for creating object types is nonstandard.
X025, XMLCast	Oracle provides equivalents for the following elements of this feature: To cast from XML to a scalar type, use `EXTRACTVALUE`. If the XML value is typed, the result is in the nearest analog to the XML type, otherwise the result type is `VARCHAR`(4000). Use `CAST` to convert to any other scalar type. To cast from a scalar type to XML, pass the scalar value in to XMLQuery and insert it in a document constructor. Since Oracle has only one XML type, there is no need to cast from XML to XML.
X076, XMLSerialize: VERSION option	Use XMLRoot to set the XML version prior to serialization.
X080, Namespaces in XML publishing	In the Oracle implementation of `XMLElement`, XMLAttributes are used to define namespaces (XMLNamespaces is not implemented. However, XMLAttributes is not supported for XMLForest.
X090, XML document predicate	In Oracle, you can test whether an XML value is a document by using the `ISFRAGMENT` method.
X096, XMLExists	Use `EXISTSNODE` to evaluate an XPath, returning 1 if a node is found, 0 if not. XQuery expressions other than XPath expressions are not supported. Also, Oracle supports XPath 1.0 expressions (not XPath 2,0, which is a subset of XQuery).
X121, XML parameters in external routines	Oracle supports XML values passed to external routines using a non-standard interface.
X141, `IS` `VALID` predicate: data drive case	The `XMLISVALID` method is equivalent to the `IS` `VALID` predicate, and supports the data-driven case.
X142, `IS` `VALID` predicate: `ACCORDING` `TO` clause	The `XMLISVALID` method is equivalent to the `IS` `VALID` predicate, and includes the equivalent of the `ACCORDING` `TO` clause.
X143, `IS` `VALID` predicate: ELEMENT clause	The `XMLISVALID` method is equivalent to the `IS` `VALID` predicate, and includes the equivalent of the `ELEMENT` clause.
X144, `IS` `VALID` predicate: schema location	The `XMLISVALID` method is equivalent to the `IS` `VALID` predicate, and supports the specification of a schema location for a registered XML Schema.
X145, `IS` `VALID` predicate outside check constraints	The `XMLISVALID` method is equivalent to the `IS` `VALID` predicate, and may be used outside check constraints.
X151, `IS` `VALID` predicate with `DOCUMENT` option	The `XMLISVALID` method is equivalent to the `IS` `VALID` predicate, and performs validation equivalent to the `DOCUMENT` clause. (`XMLISVALID` does not support "content" validation.)
X156, `IS` `VALID` predicate: optional `NAMESPACE` with `ELEMENT` clause	The `XMLISVALID` method is equivalent to the `IS` `VALID` predicate, and may be used to validate against an element in any namespace.
X157, `IS` `VALID` predicate: `NO` `NAMESPACE` with `ELEMENT` clause	The `XMLISVALID` method is equivalent to the `IS` `VALID` predicate, and may be used to validate against an element in the "no name" namespace.
X160, Basic Information Schema for registered XML Schemas	The Oracle static data dictionary view `ALL_XML_SCHEMAS` provides a list of the registered XML schemas that are accessible to the current user. The `ALL_XML_SCHEMAS`.`SCHEMA_URL` column corresponds to the standard `XML_SCHEMAS`.`XML_SCHEMA_LOCATION` column. The target namespace of the registered XML Schemas can be learned by examining `ALL_XML_SCHEMAS`.`SCHEMA`. Oracle has no equivalents for the other columns of the standard's `XML_SCHEMAS`.
X161, Advanced Information Schema for registered XML Schemas	Oracle does not have static data dictionary views corresponding to `XML_SCHEMA_NAMESPACES` and `XML_SCHEMA_ELEMENTS` in the standard. However, all the information about registered XML Schemas may be learned by examining the actual XML Schema, which is found in the `ALL_XML_SCHEMAS`.`SCHEMA` column. This may also be examined to learn whether a registered XML Schema is nondeterministic, and which of its namespaces and elements are nondeterministic.
X191, `XML`(`DOCUMENT` (`XMLSCHEMA`)) type	Oracle does not support this syntax. However, a column of a table can be constrained by a registered XML Schema, in which case all values of the column will be of `XML`(`DOCUMENT`(`XMLSCHEMA`)) type.
X221, XML passing mechanism `BY` `VALUE`	Oracle supports only value semantics, but does not support the explicit `BY` `VALUE` clause.
X232, `XML`(`CONTENT`(`ANY`)) type	Oracle does not support this syntax as a type modifier, but the Oracle `XMLType` supports this data type for transient values. Persistent values are of type `XML`(`DOCUMENT`(`ANY`)), which is a subset of `XML`(`CONTENT`(`ANY`)).
X241, `RETURNING` `CONTENT` in XML publishing	Oracle does not support this syntax. In Oracle, the behavior of the publishing functions (`XMLAgg`, `XMLComment`, `XMLConcat`, `XMLElement`, `XMLForest`, and `XMLPi`) is always `RETURNING` `CONTENT`.
X260, XML type, `ELEMENT` clause	Oracle does not support this syntax. However, a column of a table may be constrained by a top-level element in a registered XML Schema.
X262, XML type, optional `NAMESPACE` with `ELEMENT` clause	Oracle does not support this syntax. However, a column of a table may be constrained by a top-level element in a namespace other than the target namespace of a registered XML Schema.
X263, XML type: `NO` `NAMESPACE` with `ELEMENT` clause	Oracle does not support this syntax. However, a column of a table may be constrained by a top-level element in the "no name" namespace of a registered XML Schema.
X264, XML type: schema location	Oracle does not support this syntax. However, a column of a table may be constrained by a registered XML Schema that is identified by a schema location.
X271, XMLValidate: data driven case	The `SCHEMAVALIDATE` method is equivalent to XMLValidate, and supports the data-driven case.
X272, XMLValidate: `ACCORDING` `TO` clause	The `SCHEMAVALIDATE` method is equivalent to XMLValidate, and may be used to specify a particular registered XML Schema.
X273, XMLValidate: `ELEMENT` clause	The `SCHEMAVALIDATE` method is equivalent to XMLValidate, and may be used to specify a particular element of a particular registered XML Schema.
X274, XMLValidate: schema location	The `SCHEMAVALIDATE` method is equivalent to XMLValidate, and may be used to specify a particular registered XML Schema by its schema location URL.
X281, XMLValidate with `DOCUMENT` option	The `SCHEMAVALIDATE` method is equivalent to XMLValidate. `SCHEMAVALIDATE` performs validation only of XML documents (not content).
X285, XMLValidate: optional `NAMESPACE` with `ELEMENT` clause	The `SCHEMAVALIDATE` method is equivalent to XMLValidate, and may be used to specify a particular element in a namespace other than the target namespace of a particular registered XML Schema.
X286, XMLValidate: `NO` `NAMESPACE` with `ELEMENT` clause	The `SCHEMAVALIDATE` method is equivalent to XMLValidate, and may be used to specify a particular element in the "no name" namespace of a particular registered XML Schema.
Xnnn *, XML Text node constructor	The Oracle `XMLCData` function may be used to create a text node.

* The precise feature ID is not known at the time this document is released for publication.

Table B-11 lists the SQL/XML:2003 features that are not supported by Oracle.

Table B-11 Unsupported SQL/XML:2003 Features

Feature ID	Feature
X015	Fields of XML type
X030	XMLDocument
X048	Basic table mapping: base64 encoding
X050	Advanced table mapping
X051	Advanced table mapping: null absent
X052	Advanced table mapping: null as nil
X053	Advanced table mapping: table as forest
X054	Advanced table mapping: table as element
X055	Advanced table mapping: with target namespace
X056	Advanced table mapping: data mapping
X057	Advanced table mapping: metadata mapping
X058	Advanced table mapping: base64 encoding of binary strings
X059	Advanced table mapping: hex encoding of binary strings
X065	XMLParse: `BLOB` input and `CONTENT` option
X066	XMLParse: `BLOB` input and `DOCUMENT` option
X073	XMLSerialize: `BLOB` serialization and `CONTENT` option
X074	XMLSerialize: `BLOB` serialization and `DOCUMENT` option
X075	XMLSerialize: `BLOB` serialization
X076	XMLSerialize: `VERSION`
X077	XMLSerialize: explicit `ENCODING` option
X078	XMLSerialize: explicit XML declaration
X081	Query-level namespace declarations
X082	XML namespace declarations in DML
X083	XML namespace declarations in DDL
X084	XML namespace declarations in compound statements
X085	Predefined namespace prefixes
X091	XML content predicate
X100	Host language support for XML: `CONTENT` option
X101	Host language support for XML: `DOCUMENT` option
X110	Host language support for XML: `VARCHAR` mapping
X111	Host language support for XML: `CLOB` mapping
X131	Query-level `XMLBINARY` clause
X132	`XMLBINARY` clause in DML
X133	`XMLBINARY` clause in DDL
X134	`XMLBINARY` clause in compound statements
X135	`XMLBINARY` clause in subqueries
X152	`IS` `VALID` predicate with `CONTENT` option
X153	`IS` `VALID` predicate with `SEQUENCE` option
X155	`IS` `VALID` predicate: `NAMESPACE` without `ELEMENT` clause
X170	XML null handling options
X171	`NIL` `ON` `NO` `CONTENT` option
X181	`XML`(`DOCUMENT`(`UNTYPED`)) type
X182	`XML`(`DOCUMENT`(`ANY`)) type
X190	`XML`(`SEQUENCE`) type
X192	`XML`(`CONTENT`(`XMLSCHEMA`)) type
X202	XMLQuery: `RETURNING` `SEQUENCE`
X211	XML 1.1 support
X222	XML passing mechanism `BY` `REF`
X231	`XML`(`CONTENT`(`UNTYPED`)) type
X242	`RETURNING` `SEQUENCE` in XML publishing
X253	Persistent XML values of `XML`(`CONTENT`(`UNTYPED`)) type
X254	Persistent XML values of `XML`(`CONTENT`(`ANY`)) type
X255	Persistent values of `XML`(`SEQUENCE`) type
X257	Persistent values of `XML`(`CONTENT`(`XMLSCHEMA`)) type
X261	XML type: `NAMESPACE` without `ELEMENT` clause
X282	XMLValidate: with `CONTENT` option
X283	XMLVAlidate: with `SEQUENCE` option
X284	XMLValidate: `NAMESPACE` without `ELEMENT` clause
X290	Name and identifier mapping
X301	XMLTable: derived column list option
Xnnn *	Host language support for XML: `BLOB` mapping
Xnnn *	Host language support for XML: `STRIP` `WHITESPACE` option
Xnnn *	Host language support for XML: `PRESERVE` `WHITESPACE` option

* The precise feature ID is not known at the time this document is released for publication.