9 XML Schema Storage and Query: Advanced

Generating XML Schemas with DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.GENERATESCHEMA

An XML schema can be generated from an object-relational type automatically using a default mapping. PL/SQL functions generateSchema and generateSchemas in package DBMS_XMLSCHEMA take in a string that has the object type name and another that has the Oracle XML DB XML schema.

• Function generateSchema returns an XMLType containing an XML schema. It can optionally generate an XML schema for all types referenced by the given object type or restricted only to the top-level types.

• Function generateSchemas is similar, except that it returns an XMLSequenceType value. This is a varray of XMLType instances, each of which is an XML schema that corresponds to a different namespace. It also takes an additional optional argument that specifies the root URL of the preferred XML schema location:

  http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb/schemas/<schema>.xsd

Both generateSchema and generateSchemas return XML schemas that have Oracle XML DB annotations.

Example 9-1 shows the definition of an object type, employee_t, and an invocation of generateSchema that generates an XML schema for that object type.

CREATE TYPE employee_t AS OBJECT(empno NUMBER(10),
                                 ename VARCHAR2(200),
                                 salary NUMBER(10,2));

SELECT DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.generateSchema('T1', 'EMPLOYEE_T') FROM DUAL;

DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.GENERATESCHEMA('T1', 'EMPLOYEE_T')
------------------------------------------------------------------------
<xsd:schema targetNamespace="http://ns.oracle.com/xdb/T1"
            xmlns="http://ns.oracle.com/xdb/T1"
            xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
            xmlns:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb"
            xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
            xsi:schemaLocation="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb
                                http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb/XDBSchema.xsd">
  <xsd:element name="EMPLOYEE_T" type="EMPLOYEE_TType"
               xdb:SQLType="EMPLOYEE_T" xdb:SQLSchema="T1"/>
  <xsd:complexType name="EMPLOYEE_TType">
    <xsd:sequence>
      <xsd:element name="EMPNO" type="xsd:double" xdb:SQLName="empno"
                   xdb:SQLType="NUMBER"/>
      <xsd:element name="ENAME" type="xsd:string" xdb:SQLName="ename"
                   xdb:SQLType="VARCHAR2"/>
      <xsd:element name="SALARY" type="xsd:double" xdb:SQLName="salary"
                   xdb:SQLType="NUMBER"/>
    </xsd:sequence>
  </xsd:complexType>
</xsd:schema>

The generated XML schema declares element EMPLOYEE_T and complex type EMPLOYEE_TType. It uses annotations from namespace http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb.

Adding Unique Constraints to the Parent Element of an Attribute

After creating an XMLType table based on an XML schema, how can you add a unique constraint to the parent element of an attribute? You might, for example, want to create a unique key based on an attribute of an element that repeats itself (a collection). To create constraints on elements that can occur more than once, store the varray as an ordered collection table (OCT). You can then create constraints on the OCT.

Example 9-2 shows an XML schema that lets attribute No of element <PhoneNumber> appear more than once. The example shows how you can add a unique constraint to ensure that the same phone number cannot be repeated within a given instance document.

BEGIN DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema(
  SCHEMAURL => 'emp.xsd',
  SCHEMADOC => '<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
                           xmlns:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb">
                  <xs:element name="Employee" xdb:SQLType="EMP_TYPE">
                    <xs:complexType>
                      <xs:sequence>
                        <xs:element name="EmployeeId" type="xs:positiveInteger"/>
                        <xs:element name="PhoneNumber" maxOccurs="10"/>
                          <xs:complexType>
                            <xs:attribute name="No" type="xs:integer"/>
                          </xs:complexType>
                        </xs:element>
                      </xs:sequence>
                    </xs:complexType>
                  </xs:element>
                </xs:schema>',
   LOCAL     => FALSE, 
   GENTYPES  => FALSE); 
END;/

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

CREATE TABLE emp_tab OF XMLType
  XMLSCHEMA "emp.xsd" ELEMENT "Employee"
  VARRAY XMLDATA."PhoneNumber" STORE AS TABLE phone_tab;

Table created.

ALTER TABLE phone_tab ADD UNIQUE (NESTED_TABLE_ID, "No");

Table altered.

INSERT INTO emp_tab 
  VALUES(XMLType('<Employee>
                    <EmployeeId>1234</EmployeeId>
                    <PhoneNumber No="1234"/>
                    <PhoneNumber No="2345"/>
                  </Employee>').createSchemaBasedXML('emp.xsd'));

1 row created.

INSERT INTO emp_tab 
  VALUES(XMLType('<Employee>
                    <EmployeeId>3456</EmployeeId>
                    <PhoneNumber No="4444"/>
                    <PhoneNumber No="4444"/>
                  </Employee>').createSchemaBasedXML('emp.xsd'));

*
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-00001: unique constraint (SCOTT.SYS_C002136) violated

The constraint in this example applies to each collection, and not across all instances. This is achieved by creating a concatenated index with the collection id column. To apply the constraint across all collections of all instance documents, omit the collection id column.

Setting Annotation Attribute SQLInline to false for Out-Of-Line Storage

By default, a child XML element is mapped to an embedded SQL object attribute, when XMLType data is stored object-relationally. However, there are scenarios where out-of-line storage offers better performance. In such cases, set XML schema annotation (attribute) xdb:SQLInline to false, so Oracle XML DB generates a SQL object type with an embedded REF attribute. The REF points to another XMLType instance that is stored out of line and that corresponds to the XML fragment. Default XMLType tables are also created, to store the out-of-line fragments.

Figure 9-1 illustrates the mapping of complexType to SQL for out-of-line storage.

Figure 9-1 Mapping complexType to SQL for Out-Of-Line Storage

Description of "Figure 9-1 Mapping complexType to SQL for Out-Of-Line Storage"

DECLARE
  doc VARCHAR2(3000) :=
    '<schema xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"                     
             targetNamespace="http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd"       
             xmlns:emp="http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd"       
             xmlns:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb">
       <complexType name="EmpType" xdb:SQLType="EMP_T">
         <sequence>
           <element name="Name" type="string"/>
           <element name="Age" type="decimal"/>
           <element name="Addr" 
                    xdb:SQLInline="false"
                    xdb:defaultTable="ADDR_TAB">
             <complexType xdb:SQLType="ADDR_T">
               <sequence>
                 <element name="Street" type="string"/>
                 <element name="City" type="string"/>
               </sequence>
             </complexType>
           </element>
         </sequence>
       </complexType>
       <element name="Employee" type="emp:EmpType"
                xdb:defaultTable="EMP_TAB"/>
     </schema>';
BEGIN
  DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema(
    SCHEMAURL        => 'emp.xsd',
    SCHEMADOC        => doc,
    ENABLE_HIERARCHY => DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.ENABLE_HIERARCHY_NONE);
END;
/

In Example 9-3, attribute xdb:SQLInline of element Addr has value false. The resulting SQL object type, obj_t2, has an XMLType column with an embedded REF object attribute. The REF attribute points to an XMLType instance of SQL object type obj_t1 in table addr_tab. Table addr_tab is stored out of line. It has columns street and city.

When registering this XML schema, Oracle XML DB generates the XMLType tables and types shown in Example 9-4.

DESCRIBE emp_tab
 Name                          Null?    Type
 ----------------------------- -------- ----------------------------------------------------------
TABLE of SYS.XMLTYPE(XMLSchema "emp.xsd" Element "Employee") STORAGE Object-relational TYPE "EMP_T"
 
DESCRIBE addr_tab
 Name                          Null?    Type
 ----------------------------- -------- --------------------------------------------------------
TABLE of SYS.XMLTYPE(XMLSchema "emp.xsd" Element "Addr") STORAGE Object-relational TYPE "ADDR_T"

DESCRIBE emp_t
 emp_t is NOT FINAL
 Name                          Null?    Type
 ----------------------------- -------- --------------------
 SYS_XDBPD$                             XDB.XDB$RAW_LIST_T
 Name                                   VARCHAR2(4000 CHAR)
 Age                                    NUMBER
 Addr                                   REF OF XMLTYPE

DESCRIBE addr_t
 Name                          Null?    Type
 ----------------------------- -------- --------------------
 SYS_XDBPD$                             XDB.XDB$RAW_LIST_T
 Street                                 VARCHAR2(4000 CHAR)
 City                                   VARCHAR2(4000 CHAR)
 

Table emp_tab holds all of the employee information, and it contains an object reference that points to the address information that is stored out of line, in table addr_tab.

An advantage of this model is that it lets you query the out-of-line table (addr_tab) directly, to look up address information. Example 9-5 illustrates querying table addr_tab directly to obtain the distinct city information for all employees.

INSERT INTO emp_tab
  VALUES
    (XMLType('<x:Employee
                 xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
                 xmlns:x="http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd"
                 xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd emp.xsd">
                <Name>Abe Bee</Name>
                <Age>22</Age>
                <Addr>
                  <Street>A Street</Street>
                  <City>San Francisco</City>
                </Addr>
              </x:Employee>'));
 
INSERT INTO emp_tab
  VALUES
    (XMLType('<x:Employee
                 xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
                 xmlns:x="http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd"
                 xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd emp.xsd">
                <Name>Cecilia Dee</Name>
                <Age>23</Age>
                <Addr>
                  <Street>C Street</Street>
                  <City>Redwood City</City>
                </Addr>
              </x:Employee>'));
. . .

SELECT DISTINCT XMLCast(XMLQuery('/Addr/City' PASSING OBJECT_VALUE AS "." 
                                              RETURNING CONTENT)
                       AS VARCHAR2(20))
  FROM addr_tab;

CITY
-------------
Redwood City
San Francisco

The disadvantage of this storage model is that, in order to obtain the entire Employee element, you must access an additional table for the address.

SELECT XMLCast(XMLQuery('declare namespace x = "http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd"; (: :)
                         /x:Employee/Name' PASSING OBJECT_VALUE RETURNING CONTENT)
               AS VARCHAR2(20))
  FROM emp_tab
  WHERE XMLExists('declare namespace x = "http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd"; (: :)
                   /x:Employee/Addr[City="San Francisco"]' PASSING OBJECT_VALUE);

XMLCAST(XMLQUERY(...
--------------------
Abe Bee
Eve Fong
George Hu
Iris Jones
Karl Luomo
Marina Namur
Omar Pinano
Quincy Roberts
 
8 rows selected.

CREATE INDEX addr_city_idx
  ON addr_tab (extractValue(OBJECT_VALUE, '/Addr/City'));

|   2 |   TABLE ACCESS BY INDEX ROWID| ADDR_TAB      |     1 |  2012 |     1   (0)| 00:00:01 |
|*  3 |    INDEX RANGE SCAN          | ADDR_CITY_IDX |     1 |       |     1   (0)| 00:00:01 |
|   4 |   TABLE ACCESS FULL          | EMP_TAB       |    16 | 32464 |     2   (0)| 00:00:01 |

Storing Collections in Out-Of-Line Tables

You can also map collection items to be stored out of line. In this case, instead of a single REF column, the parent element contains a varray of REF values that point to the collection members. For example, suppose that there is a list of addresses for each employee and that list is mapped to out-of-line storage, as shown in Example 9-8.

DECLARE
  doc VARCHAR2(3000) :=
    '<schema xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
             targetNamespace="http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd"
             xmlns:emp="http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd"
             xmlns:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb">
       <complexType name="EmpType" xdb:SQLType="EMP_T">
         <sequence>
           <element name="Name" type="string"/>
           <element name="Age" type="decimal"/>
           <element name="Addr" xdb:SQLInline="false"
                    maxOccurs="unbounded" xdb:defaultTable="ADDR_TAB">
             <complexType xdb:SQLType="ADDR_T">
               <sequence>
                 <element name="Street" type="string"/>
                 <element name="City" type="string"/>
               </sequence>
             </complexType>
           </element>
         </sequence>
       </complexType>
       <element name="Employee" type="emp:EmpType"
                xdb:defaultTable="EMP_TAB"/>
     </schema>';
BEGIN
  DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema(
    SCHEMAURL        => 'emp.xsd',
    SCHEMADOC        => doc,
    ENABLE_HIERARCHY => DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.ENABLE_HIERARCHY_NONE);
END;
/

During registration of this XML schema, Oracle XML DB generates tables emp_tab and addr_tab and types emp_t and addr_t, just as in Example 9-3. However, this time, type emp_t contains a varray of REF values that point to addresses, instead of a single REF attribute, as shown in Example 9-9.

DESCRIBE emp_t
 emp_t is NOT FINAL
 Name                                   Null?    Type
 -------------------------------------- -------- --------------------------
 SYS_XDBPD$                                      XDB.XDB$RAW_LIST_T
 Name                                            VARCHAR2(4000 CHAR)
 Age                                             NUMBER
 Addr                                            XDB.XDB$XMLTYPE_REF_LIST_T

By default, XML schema attribute storeVarrayAsTable has value true, which means that the varray of REF values is stored out of line, in an intermediate table. That is, in addition to creating the tables and types just mentioned, XML schema registration also creates the intermediate table that stores the list of REF values. This table has a system-generated name, but you can rename it. That can be useful, for example, in order to create an index on it.

DECLARE
  gen_name VARCHAR2 (4000);
BEGIN
  SELECT TABLE_NAME INTO gen_name FROM USER_NESTED_TABLES
    WHERE PARENT_TABLE_NAME = 'EMP_TAB';
  EXECUTE IMMEDIATE 'RENAME "' || gen_name || '"TO emp_tab_reflist';
END;
/
 
DESCRIBE emp_tab_reflist
 Name                    Null?    Type
 ----------------------- -------- ----------------
 COLUMN_VALUE                     REF OF XMLTYPE

Example 9-11 shows a query that selects the names of all San Francisco-based employees and the streets in which they live. The example queries the address table on element City, and joins back with the employee table. The explain-plan fragment shown indicates a join between tables emp_tab_reflist and emp_tab.

SELECT em.name, ad.street
  FROM emp_tab,
       XMLTable(XMLNAMESPACES ('http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd' AS "x"),
                '/x:Employee' PASSING OBJECT_VALUE
                COLUMNS name   VARCHAR2(20) PATH 'Name') em,
       XMLTable(XMLNAMESPACES ('http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd' AS "x"),
                '/x:Employee/Addr' PASSING OBJECT_VALUE
                COLUMNS street VARCHAR2(20) PATH 'Street',
                        city   VARCHAR2(20) PATH 'City') ad
  WHERE ad.city = 'San Francisco';
 
NAME                 STREET
-------------------- --------------------
Abe Bee              A Street
Eve Fong             E Street
George Hu            G Street
Iris Jones           I Street
Karl Luomo           K Street
Marina Namur         M Street
Omar Pinano          O Street
Quincy Roberts       Q Street
 
8 rows selected.

|   4 |    TABLE ACCESS FULL         | EMP_TAB_REFLIST |    32 |   640 |     2   (0)| 00:00:01 |
|   5 |   TABLE ACCESS BY INDEX ROWID| EMP_TAB         |     1 |    29 |     1   (0)| 00:00:01 |
|*  6 |    INDEX UNIQUE SCAN         | SYS_C005567     |     1 |       |     0   (0)| 00:00:01 |

To improve performance you can create an index on the REF values in the intermediate table, emp_tab_reflist. This lets Oracle XML DB query the address table, obtain an object reference (REF) to the relevant row, join it with the intermediate table storing the list of REF values, and join that table back with the employee table.

You can create an index on REF values only if the REF is scoped or has a referential constraint. A scoped REF column stores pointers only to objects in a particular table. The REF values in table emp_tab_reflist point only to objects in table addr_tab, so you can create a scope constraint and an index on the REF column, as shown in Example 9-12.

ALTER TABLE emp_tab_reflist ADD SCOPE FOR (COLUMN_VALUE) IS addr_tab;
CREATE INDEX reflist_idx ON emp_tab_reflist (COLUMN_VALUE);

|   4 |    TABLE ACCESS BY INDEX ROWID| EMP_TAB_REFLIST |     1 |    20 |     1   (0)| 00:00:01 |
|*  5 |     INDEX RANGE SCAN          | REFLIST_IDX     |     1 |       |     0   (0)| 00:00:01 |
|   6 |   TABLE ACCESS BY INDEX ROWID | EMP_TAB         |       |       |            |          |
|*  7 |    INDEX UNIQUE SCAN          | SYS_C005567     |     1 |       |     0   (0)| 00:00:01 |

In cases where the more selective predicates in the query are on the employee table, you might want to set XML schema attribute storeVarrayAsTable to false, in order to store the varray of REF values in line in table emp_tab. Storing the varray in line effectively forces any query involving the two tables emp_tab and addr_tab to always be driven from emp_tab. There is then no way to efficiently join back from the address table. This approach is inappropriate when the number of employees is large, because it involves a full table scan of table emp_tab, which can be expensive.

Partitioning XMLType Tables and Columns Stored Object-Relationally

This section is about XML data that is stored using structured storage, that is, object-relationally.

When you partition an XMLType table or a table with an XMLType column using list, range, or hash partitioning, any ordered collection tables (OCTs) or out-of-line tables within the data are automatically partitioned accordingly, by default.

This equipartitioning means that the partitioning of an OCT or an out-of-line table follows the partitioning scheme of its parent (base) table. There is a corresponding child-table partition for each partition of the base table. A child element is stored in the child-table partition that corresponds to the base-table partition of its parent element.

Storage attributes for a base table partition are, by default, also used for the corresponding child-table partitions. You can override these storage attributes for a given child-table partition.

Similarly, by default, the name of an OCT partition is the same as its base (parent) table, but you can override this behavior by specifying the name to use. The name of an out-of-line table partition is always the same as the partition of its parent-table (which could be a base table or an OCT).

ALTER SESSION SET EVENTS '31178 TRACE NAME CONTEXT FOREVER, LEVEL 0x200'

<xs:element name="PurchaseOrder" type="PurchaseOrderType"
            xdb:defaultTable="PURCHASEORDER"
            xdb:tableProps =
              "VARRAY XMLDATA.LINEITEMS.LINEITEM
                 STORE AS TABLE lineitem_table
                   ((PRIMARY KEY (NESTED_TABLE_ID, SYS_NC_ARRAY_INDEX$)))
                   PARTITION BY RANGE (XMLDATA.Reference)
                     (PARTITION p1 VALUES LESS THAN (1000)
                        VARRAY XMLDATA.LINEITEMS.LINEITEM
                          STORE AS TABLE lineitem_p1 (STORAGE (MINEXTENTS 13)),
                      PARTITION p2 VALUES LESS THAN (2000)
                        VARRAY XMLDATA.LINEITEMS.LINEITEM
                          STORE AS TABLE lineitem_p2 (STORAGE (MINEXTENTS 13)))"/>

CREATE TABLE purchaseorder OF XMLType
  XMLSCHEMA "http://localhost:8080/source/schemas/poSource/xsd/purchaseOrder.xsd"
  ELEMENT "PurchaseOrder"
  VARRAY "XMLDATA"."LINEITEMS"."LINEITEM" STORE AS TABLE lineitem_table
    ((PRIMARY KEY (NESTED_TABLE_ID, SYS_NC_ARRAY_INDEX$)))
    PARTITION BY RANGE (XMLDATA.Reference)
      (PARTITION p1 VALUES LESS THAN (1000)
         VARRAY "XMLDATA"."LINEITEMS"."LINEITEM" STORE AS TABLE lineitem_p1
           (STORAGE (MINEXTENTS 13)),
       PARTITION p2 VALUES LESS THAN (2000)
         VARRAY  "XMLDATA"."LINEITEMS"."LINEITEM" STORE AS TABLE lineitem_p2
           (STORAGE (MINEXTENTS 13)));

Fully Qualified XML Schema URLs

By default, XML schema URLs are referenced within the scope of the current database user. XML schema URLs are first resolved as the names of local XML schemas owned by the current user.

• If there are no such XML schemas, then they are resolved as names of global XML schemas.

• If there are no global XML schemas either, then Oracle XML DB raises an error.

To permit explicit reference to particular XML schemas, Oracle XML DB supports the notion of fully qualified XML schema URLs. The name of the database user owning the XML schema is specified as part of the XML schema URL. Fully qualified XML schema URLs belong to the Oracle XML DB namespace:

http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb/schemas/<database-user>/<schemaURL-minus-protocol>

For example, suppose there is a registered global XML schema with the URL http://www.example.com/po.xsd, and user QUINE has a local registered XML schema with the same URL. Another user can reference the schema owned by QUINE as follows using this fully qualified XML Schema URL:

http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb/schemas/QUINE/www.example.com/po.xsd

The fully qualified URL for the global XML schema is:

http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb/schemas/PUBLIC/www.example.com/po.xsd

Mapping XML Fragments to Large Objects (LOBs)

You can specify the SQL data type to use for a complex element as being CLOB or BLOB. In Figure 9-2, for example, an entire XML fragment is stored in a LOB attribute. This is useful when parts of an XML document are typically retrieved and stored as whole, and are seldom queried. By storing XML fragments as LOBs, you can save on parsing, decomposition, and recomposition overheads.

In Example 9-15, the XML schema defines element Addr using the annotation SQLType = "CLOB":

DECLARE
  doc VARCHAR2(3000) :=
    '<schema xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"       
             targetNamespace="http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd"       
             xmlns:emp="http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd"       
             xmlns:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb">
       <complexType name="Employee" xdb:SQLType="OBJ_T">
         <sequence>
           <element name="Name" type="string"/>
           <element name="Age" type="decimal"/>
           <element name="Addr" xdb:SQLType="CLOB">
             <complexType >
               <sequence>
                 <element name="Street" type="string"/>
                 <element name="City" type="string"/>
               </sequence>
             </complexType>
           </element>
         </sequence>
       </complexType>
     </schema>';
BEGIN
  DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema(
    SCHEMAURL => 'http://www.oracle.com/PO.xsd',
    SCHEMADOC => doc);
END;

CREATE TYPE obj_t AS OBJECT(SYS_XDBPD$ XDB.XDB$RAW_LIST_T, 
                            Name VARCHAR2(4000), 
                            Age NUMBER, 
                            Addr CLOB);

Figure 9-2 Mapping complexType XML Fragments to Character Large Objects (CLOB)

Description of "Figure 9-2 Mapping complexType XML Fragments to Character Large Objects (CLOB) "

complexType Extensions and Restrictions in Oracle XML DB

In XML Schema, complexType values are declared based on complexContent and simpleContent.

• simpleContent is declared as an extension of simpleType.

• complexContent is declared as one of the following:

  • Base type

  • complexType extension

  • complexType restriction

This section describes the Oracle XML DB extensions and restrictions to complexType.

DECLARE
  doc VARCHAR2(3000) :=
    '<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" 
                xmlns:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb">
       <xs:complexType name="Address" xdb:SQLType="ADDR_T">
         <xs:sequence>
           <xs:element name="street" type="xs:string"/>
           <xs:element name="city" type="xs:string"/>
         </xs:sequence>
       </xs:complexType>
       <xs:complexType name="USAddress" xdb:SQLType="USADDR_T">
         <xs:complexContent>
           <xs:extension base="Address">
             <xs:sequence>
               <xs:element name="zip" type="xs:string"/>
             </xs:sequence>
           </xs:extension>
         </xs:complexContent>
       </xs:complexType>
       <xs:complexType name="IntlAddress" final="#all" xdb:SQLType="INTLADDR_T">
         <xs:complexContent>
           <xs:extension base="Address">
             <xs:sequence>
               <xs:element name="country" type="xs:string"/>
             </xs:sequence>
           </xs:extension>
         </xs:complexContent>
       </xs:complexType>
     </xs:schema>';
BEGIN
  DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema(
    SCHEMAURL => 'http://www.oracle.com/PO.xsd',
    SCHAMEDOC => doc);
END;

CREATE TYPE addr_t AS OBJECT(SYS_XDBPD$ XDB.XDB$RAW_LIST_T,
                             "street" VARCHAR2(4000),
                             "city" VARCHAR2(4000)) NOT FINAL;
CREATE TYPE usaddr_t UNDER addr_t ("zip" VARCHAR2(4000)) NOT FINAL;
CREATE TYPE intladdr_t UNDER addr_t ("country" VARCHAR2(4000)) FINAL;

DECLARE
  doc varchar2(3000) :=
    '<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" 
                xmlns:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb">
       <xs:complexType name="Address" xdb:SQLType="ADDR_T">
         <xs:sequence>
           <xs:element name="street" type="xs:string"/>
           <xs:element name="city" type="xs:string"/>
           <xs:element name="zip" type="xs:string"/>
           <xs:element name="country" type="xs:string" minOccurs="0"
                       maxOccurs="1"/>
         </xs:sequence>
       </xs:complexType>
       <xs:complexType name="LocalAddress" xdb:SQLType="USADDR_T">
         <xs:complexContent>
           <xs:restriction base="Address">
             <xs:sequence>
               <xs:element name="street" type="xs:string"/>
               <xs:element name="city" type="xs:string"/>
               <xs:element name="zip" type="xs:string"/>
               <xs:element name="country" type="xs:string" 
                           minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="0"/>
             </xs:sequence>
           </xs:restriction>
         </xs:complexContent>
       </xs:complexType>
     </xs:schema>';
BEGIN
  DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema(
    SCHEMAURL => 'http://www.oracle.com/PO.xsd',
    SCHEMADOC => doc);
END;

CREATE TYPE addr_t AS OBJECT (SYS_XDBPD$ XDB.XDB$RAW_LIST_T,
                              "street"   VARCHAR2(4000),
                              "city"     VARCHAR2(4000),
                              "zip"      VARCHAR2(4000),
                              "country"  VARCHAR2(4000)) NOT FINAL;
CREATE TYPE usaddr_t UNDER addr_t;

DECLARE
  doc VARCHAR2(3000) :=
    '<schema xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"               
             targetNamespace="http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd"      
             xmlns:emp="http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd" 
             xmlns:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb"> 
       <complexType name="name" xdb:SQLType="OBJ_T"> 
         <simpleContent> 
           <restriction base="string"> 
           </restriction> 
         </simpleContent> 
       </complexType>
     </schema>';
BEGIN
  DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema(
    SCHEMAURL => 'http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd',
    SCHEMADOC => doc);
END;

CREATE TYPE obj_t AS OBJECT(SYS_XDBPD$ XDB.XDB$RAW_LIST_T, 
                            SYS_XDBBODY$ VARCHAR2(4000));

DECLARE
  doc VARCHAR2(3000) :=
    '<schema xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"  
             targetNamespace="http://www.oracle.com/any.xsd" 
             xmlns:emp="http://www.oracle.com/any.xsd" 
             xmlns:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb">
       <complexType name="Employee" xdb:SQLType="OBJ_T">
         <sequence>
           <element name="Name" type="string"/>
           <element name="Age" type="decimal"/>
           <any namespace="http://www/w3.org/2001/xhtml"
                processContents="skip"/>
         </sequence>
       </complexType>
     </schema>';
BEGIN
  DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema(
    SCHEMAURL => 'http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd',
    SCHEMADOC => doc);
END;

CREATE TYPE obj_t AS OBJECT(SYS_XDBPD$ XDB.XDB$RAW_LIST_T,
                            Name VARCHAR2(4000), 
                            Age NUMBER, 
                            SYS_XDBANY$ VARCHAR2(4000));

XML Schema: Working with Circular and Cyclical Dependencies

The W3C XML Schema Recommendation lets complexTypes and global elements contain recursive references. For example, a complexType definition can contain an element based on that same complexType, or a global element can contain a reference to itself. In both cases the reference can be direct or indirect. This kind of structure allows for instance documents where the element in question can appear an infinite number of times in a recursive hierarchy.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
           xmlns:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb" 
           elementFormDefault="qualified" attributeFormDefault="unqualified">
  <xs:element name="person" type="personType" xdb:defaultTable="PERSON_TABLE"/>
  <xs:complexType name="personType" xdb:SQLType="PERSON_T">
    <xs:sequence>
      <xs:element name="descendant" type="personType" minOccurs="0"  
                  maxOccurs="unbounded" xdb:SQLName="DESCENDANT"
                  xdb:defaultTable="DESCENDANT_TABLE"/>
    </xs:sequence>
    <xs:attribute name="personName" use="required" xdb:SQLName="PERSON_NAME"> 
      <xs:simpleType>
        <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
          <xs:maxLength value="20"/>
        </xs:restriction>
      </xs:simpleType>
    </xs:attribute>
  </xs:complexType>
</xs:schema>

complexType Declarations XML Schema: Handling Cycles

SQL object types do not allow cycles. Cycles in an XML schema are broken while generating the object types, by introducing a REF attribute at the point where the cycle would be completed. Thus, part of the data is stored out of line, but it is still retrieved as part of the parent XML document.

Note:

Starting with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.2), you can create only one XMLType table that uses an XML schema that results in an out-of-line table. An error is raised if you try to create a second table that uses the same XML schema.

XML schemas permit cycling between definitions of complex types. Figure 9-3 shows this, where the definition of complex type CT1 can reference another complex type CT2, whereas the definition of CT2 references the first type CT1.

XML schemas permit cycles among definitions of complex types. Example 9-21 creates a cycle of length two:

Example 9-21 XML Schema: Cycling Between complexTypes

DECLARE 
  doc VARCHAR2(3000) :=
    '<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" 
                xmlns:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb">
       <xs:complexType name="CT1" xdb:SQLType="CT1">
         <xs:sequence>
           <xs:element name="e1" type="xs:string"/>
           <xs:element name="e2" type="CT2"/>
         </xs:sequence>
       </xs:complexType>
       <xs:complexType name="CT2" xdb:SQLType="CT2">
         <xs:sequence>
           <xs:element name="e1" type="xs:string"/>
           <xs:element name="e2" type="CT1"/>
         </xs:sequence>
       </xs:complexType>
     </xs:schema>';
BEGIN
  DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema(
    SCHEMAURL => 'http://www.oracle.com/emp.xsd',
    SCHEMADOC => doc);
END;

SQL types do not allow cycles in type definitions. However, they do support weak cycles, that is, cycles involving REF (reference) object attributes. Cyclic XML schema definitions are mapped to SQL object types in such a way that cycles are avoided by forcing SQLInline = "false" at the appropriate points. This creates a weak SQL cycle.

For the XML schema of Example 9-21, Oracle XML DB generates the following types:

CREATE TYPE ct1 AS OBJECT (SYS_XDBPD$  XDB.XDB$RAW_LIST_T,
                           "e1"        VARCHAR2(4000),
                           "e2"        REF XMLType) NOT FINAL;
CREATE TYPE ct2 AS OBJECT (SYS_XDBPD$  XDB.XDB$RAW_LIST_T,
                           "e1"        VARCHAR2(4000),
                           "e2"        CT1) NOT FINAL;

Figure 9-3 Cross Referencing Between Different complexTypes in the Same XML Schema

Description of "Figure 9-3 Cross Referencing Between Different complexTypes in the Same XML Schema"

Another example of a cyclic complex type involves the declaration of the complex type that refers to itself. In Example 9-22, type SectionT does this.

Example 9-22 XML Schema: Cycling Between complexTypes, Self-Reference

DECLARE 
  doc VARCHAR2(3000) :=
    '<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"        
                xmlns:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb">
       <xs:complexType name="SectionT" xdb:SQLType="SECTION_T">
         <xs:sequence>
           <xs:element name="title" type="xs:string"/>
           <xs:choice maxOccurs="unbounded">
             <xs:element name="body" type="xs:string" 
                         xdb:SQLCollType="BODY_COLL"/>
             <xs:element name="section" type="SectionT"/>
           </xs:choice>
         </xs:sequence>
       </xs:complexType>
     </xs:schema>';
BEGIN
  DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema(
    SCHEMAURL => 'http://www.oracle.com/section.xsd',
    SCHEMADOC => doc);
END;

For the XML schema of Example 9-22, Oracle XML DB generates the following types:

CREATE TYPE body_coll AS VARRAY(32767) OF VARCHAR2(4000);
CREATE TYPE section_t AS OBJECT (SYS_XDBPD$  XDB.XDB$RAW_LIST_T, 
                                 "title"     VARCHAR2(4000),
                                 "body"      BODY_COLL,
                                 "section"   XDB.XDB$REF_LIST_T) NOT FINAL;

Note:

In Example 9-22, object attribute section is declared as a varray of REF references to XMLType instances. Because there can be more than one occurrence of embedded sections, the attribute is a varray. It is a varray of REF references to XMLType instances, to avoid forming a cycle of SQL objects.

How a complexType Can Reference Itself

Assume that your XML schema, identified by "http://www.oracle.com/PO.xsd", has been registered. An XMLType table, purchaseorder, can then be created to store instances conforming to element PurchaseOrder of this XML schema, in an object-relational format:

CREATE TABLE purchaseorder OF XMLType 
   ELEMENT "http://www.oracle.com/PO.xsd#PurchaseOrder";

Figure 9-4 illustrates schematically how a complexType can reference itself.

Figure 9-4 Self-Referencing Complex Type within an XML Schema

Description of "Figure 9-4 Self-Referencing Complex Type within an XML Schema"

See Also:

"Cyclical References Among XML Schemas"

Hidden columns are created that correspond to the object type to which the PurchaseOrder element has been mapped. In addition, an XMLEXTRA object column is created, to store top-level instance data such as namespace declarations. XMLEXTRA is reserved for internal use.

Cyclical References Among XML Schemas

XML schemas can depend on each other in such a way that they cannot be registered one after the other in the usual manner. Illustrations of such XML schemas follow in Figure 9-5.

In the top half of the illustration, an example of indirect cyclical references between three XML schemas is shown.

In the bottom half of the illustration, an example of cyclical dependencies between two XML schemas is shown. The details of this simpler example are presented first.

Figure 9-5 Cyclical References Between XML Schemas

Description of "Figure 9-5 Cyclical References Between XML Schemas"

An XML schema that includes another XML schema cannot be created if the included XML schema does not exist. The registration of XML schema xm40.xsd in Example 9-23 fails, if xm40a.xsd does not exist.

Example 9-23 An XML Schema that Includes a Non-Existent XML Schema

BEGIN DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema(
  SCHEMAURL => 'xm40.xsd',
  SCHEMADOC => '<schema xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
                        xmlns:my="xm40"  
                        targetNamespace="xm40">
                  <include schemaLocation="xm40a.xsd"/>
                  <!-- Define a global complextype here -->
                  <complexType name="Company">
                    <sequence>
                      <element name="Name" type="string"/>
                      <element name="Address" type="string"/>
                    </sequence>
                  </complexType>
                  <!-- Define a global element depending on included schema -->
                  <element name="Emp" type="my:Employee"/>
                </schema>',
  LOCAL     => TRUE, 
  GENTYPES  => TRUE, 
  GENTABLES => TRUE); 
END;
/

XML schema xm40.xsd can, however, be created if you specify option FORCE => TRUE, as in Example 9-24:

Example 9-24 Using the FORCE Option to Register XML Schema xm40.xsd

BEGIN DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema(
  SCHEMAURL => 'xm40.xsd',
  SCHEMADOC => '<schema xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
                        xmlns:my="xm40"  
                        targetNamespace="xm40">
                  <include schemaLocation="xm40a.xsd"/>
                  <!-- Define a global complextype here -->
                  <complexType name="Company">
                    <sequence>
                      <element name="Name" type="string"/>
                      <element name="Address" type="string"/>
                    </sequence>
                  </complexType>
                  <!-- Define a global element depending on included schema -->
                  <element name="Emp" type="my:Employee"/>
                </schema>',
  LOCAL     => TRUE, 
  GENTYPES  => TRUE, 
  GENTABLES => TRUE, 
  FORCE     => TRUE); 
END;
/

However, an attempt to use XML schema xm40.xsd, as in Example 9-25, fails.

Example 9-25 Trying to Create a Table Using a Cyclic XML Schema

CREATE TABLE foo OF XMLType XMLSCHEMA "xm40.xsd" ELEMENT "Emp";

If you register xm40a.xsd using the FORCE option, as in Example 9-26, then both XML schemas can be used, as shown by the CREATE TABLE statements.

Example 9-26 Using the FORCE Option to Register XML Schema xm40a.xsd

BEGIN DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema(
  SCHEMAURL => 'xm40a.xsd',
  SCHEMADOC => '<schema xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
                        xmlns:my="xm40" 
                        targetNamespace="xm40">
                  <include schemaLocation="xm40.xsd"/>
                  <!-- Define a global complextype here -->
                  <complexType name="Employee">
                    <sequence>
                      <element name="Name" type="string"/>
                      <element name="Age" type="positiveInteger"/>
                      <element name="Phone" type="string"/>
                    </sequence>
                  </complexType>
                  <!-- Define a global element depending on included schema -->
                  <element name="Comp" type="my:Company"/>
                </schema>',
  LOCAL     => TRUE, 
  GENTYPES  => TRUE, 
  GENTABLES => TRUE, 
  FORCE     => TRUE); 
END;
/

CREATE TABLE foo  OF XMLType XMLSCHEMA "xm40.xsd"  ELEMENT "Emp";
CREATE TABLE foo2 OF XMLType XMLSCHEMA "xm40a.xsd" ELEMENT "Comp";
 

Thus, to register these XML schemas, which depend on each other, you must use the FORCE parameter in DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema for each schema, as follows:

1. Register xm40.xsd with FORCE mode set to TRUE:

   DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema("xm40.xsd", "<schema ...", ..., FORCE => TRUE)
   

   At this point, xm40.xsd cannot be used.

2. Register xm40a.xsd in FORCE mode set to TRUE:

   DBMS_XMLSCHEMA.registerSchema("xm40a.xsd", "<schema ...", ..., FORCE => TRUE)
   

   The second operation automatically compiles xm40.xsd and makes both XML schemas usable.

Support for Recursive Schemas

Storing a REF to a recursive structure that is in an out-of-line table has the disadvantage that XPath queries against such documents cannot easily be rewritten, because it is not known at compile time how deep the structure might be. To enable rewrite of such XPath queries, a DOCID column is used to store a pointer back to the root document in any recursive structure, enabling some queries to use the out-of-line tables directly and join back using this column.

Example 9-27 shows a recursive XML schema.

<schema targetNamespace="AbcNS" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
          xmlns:abc="AbcNS" xmlnm:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com.xdb">
  <element name="AbcCode" xdb:defaultTable="ABCCODETAB">
    <complexType>
      <sequence>
        <element ref="abc:AbcSection"/>
      </sequence>
    </complexType>
  </element>
 
  <element name="AbcSection">
    <complexType>
      <sequence>
        <element name="ID" type="integer"/>
        <element name="Contents" type="string"/>
        <element ref="abc:AbcSection"/>
      </sequence>
    </complexType>
  </element>
</schema>

A document-correlated recursive query is a query using a SQL function that accepts an XPath or XQuery expression and an XMLType instance, where that XPath or XQuery expression contains '//'. A document-correlated recursive query can be rewritten if it can be determined at query compilation time that both of the following conditions are met:

• All fragments of the XMLType instance that are targeted by the XPath or XQuery expression reside in a single out-of-line table.

• No other fragments of the XMLType instance reside in the same out-of-line table.

The rewritten query is a join with the out-of-line table, based on the DOCID column.

Other queries with '//' can also be rewritten. For example, if there are several address elements, all of the same type, in different sections of a schema, and you often query all address elements with '//', not caring about their specific location in the document, rewrite can occur.

During schema registration, an additional DOCID column is generated for out-of-line XMLType tables This column stores the OID (Object Identifier Values) of the document, that is, the root element. This column is automatically populated when data is inserted in the tables. You can export tables containing DOCID columns and import them later.

<schema targetNamespace="AbcNS" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
           xmlns:abc="AbcNS" xmlns:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb">
  <element name="AbcCode" xdb:defaultTable="ABCCODETAB">
    <complexType>
      <sequence>
        <element ref="abc:AbcSection" xdb:SQLInline="false"/>
      </sequence>
    </complexType>
  </element>
 
  <element name="AbcSection" xdb:defaultTable="">
    <complexType>
      <sequence>
        <element name="ID" type="integer"/>
        <element name="Contents" type="string"/>
        <element ref="abc:AbcSection" xdb:SQLInline="false"
                 xdb:defaultTable="ABCSECTIONTAB"/>
      </sequence>
    </complexType>
  </element>
</schema>

 <schema targetNamespace="XyzNS" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
         xmlns:xyz="XyzNS" xmlns:xdb="http://xmlns.oracle.com/xdb">
   <element name="XyzCode" xdb:defaultTable="XYZCODETAB">
   <complexType>
   <sequence>
      <element name="CodeNumber" type="integer" minOccurs="0"/>
      <element ref="xyz:XyzChapter" xdb:SQLInline="false"/>
      <element ref="xyz:XyzPara" xdb:SQLInline="false" />
   </sequence>
   </complexType>
   </element>
 
    <element name="XyzChapter" xdb:defaultTable="XYZCHAPTAB">
     <complexType>
     <sequence>
         <element name="Title" type="string"/>
         <element ref="xyz:XyzSection" xdb:SQLInline="false" 
                  xdb:defaultTable="XYZSECTIONTAB"/>
      </sequence>
      </complexType>
    </element>
 
    <element name="XyzPara" xdb:defaultTable="XYZPARATAB">
     <complexType>
     <sequence>
         <element name="Title" type="string"/>
         <element ref="xyz:XyzSection" xdb:SQLInline="false" 
                  xdb:defaultTable="Other_XYZSECTIONTAB"/>
      </sequence>
      </complexType>
    </element>
   
    <element name="XyzSection">
    <complexType>
    <sequence>
        <element name="ID" type="integer"/>
        <element name="Contents" type="string"/>
        <element ref="xyz:XyzSection" xdb:defaultTable="XYZSECTIONTAB"/>
     </sequence>
     </complexType>
    </element>
 </schema>

SELECT XMLQuery('//XyzSection' PASSING OBJECT_VALUE RETURNING CONTENT)
  FROM xyzcode;

SELECT XMLQuery('//AbcSection' PASSING OBJECT_VALUE RETURNING CONTENT)
  FROM abccodetab;

SELECT XMLQuery('/AbcCode/AbcSection//AbcSection'
                PASSING OBJECT_VALUE RETURNING CONTENT)
  FROM abccodetab;

Loading and Retrieving Large Documents with Collections

Configuration file /xdbconfig.xml has parameters that control the amount of memory used by the loading operation. These let you optimize the loading process, provided the following conditions are met:

• The document is loaded using one of the following:

  • Protocols (FTP, HTTP(S), or DAV)

  • PL/SQL function DBMS_XDB.createResource

  • A SQL INSERT statement into an XMLType table (but not an XMLType column)

• The document is XML schema-based and contains large collections (elements with maxoccurs set to a large number).

• Collections in the document are stored as OCTs. This is the default behavior.

In the following situations, these optimizations are sometimes suboptimal:

• When there are triggers on the base table.

• When the base table is partitioned.

• When collections are stored out of line (applies only to SQL INSERT).

The basic idea behind this optimization is that it lets the collections be swapped into or out of the memory in bounded sizes. As an illustration of this idea consider the following example conforming to a purchase-order XML schema:

<PurchaseOrder>
  <LineItem itemID="1">
    ...
  </LineItem>
    .
    .
  <LineItem itemID="10240">
    ...
  </LineItem>
</PurchaseOrder>

The purchase-order document here contains a collection of 10240 LineItem elements. Creating the entire document in memory and then pushing it out to disk can lead to excessive memory usage and in some instances a load failure due to inadequate system memory. To avoid that, you can create the documents in finite chunks of memory called loadable units.

In the example case, assume that each line item needs 1 KB of memory and that you want to use loadable units of 512 KB each. Each loadable unit then contains 512 line items, and there are approximately 20 such units. If you want the entire memory representation of the document to never exceed 2 MB, then you must ensure that at any time no more than 4 loadable units are maintained in the memory. You can use an LRU mechanism to swap out the loadable units.

By controlling the size of the loadable unit and the bound on the size of the document you can tune the memory usage and performance of the load or retrieval. Typically a larger loadable unit size translates into lesser number of disk accesses but takes up more memory. This is controlled by the parameter xdbcore-loadableunit-size whose default value is 16 KB. The user can indicate the amount of memory to be given to the document by setting the xdbcore-xobmem-bound parameter which defaults to 1 MB. The values to these parameters are specified in Kilobytes. So, the default value of xdbcore-xobmem-bound is 1024 and that of xdbcore-loadableunit-size is 16. These are soft limits that provide some guidance to the system as to how to use the memory optimally.

When the document is loaded using FTP, the pattern in which the loadable units (LU) are created and flushed to the disk is as follows:

No LUs
Create LU1[LineItems(LI):1-512]
LU1[LI:1-512], Create LU2[LI:513-1024]
.
.
LU1[LI:1-512],...,Create LU4[LI:1517:2028]    <-   Total memory size = 2M
Swap Out LU1[LI:1-512], LU2[LI:513-1024],...,LU4[LI:1517-2028], Create LU5[LI:2029-2540]
Swap Out LU2[LI:513-1024], LU3, LU4, LU5, Create LU6[LI:2541-2052]
.
.
.
Swap Out LU16, LU17, LU18, LU10, Create LU20[LI:9729-10240]
Flush LU17,LU18,LU19,LU20