Semi-Structure Data Management by Bi-Directional Integration Between XML and RDB

Nowadays, swirling around most businesses is not structure information but semi-structure information, such as spreadsheets, and documents created by an individual or company. To fully manage and use semi-structure information as structure information does, we propose a technology based on the bi-directional integration between XML and RDB in a three-tiered structure. Through undertaking research at the intersection of XML and RDB, the technology expects to represent and use semi-structure information based on XML, and manage semi-structure information using RDB. Bi-directional means that we transform semi-structure data represented by XML into RDB and oppositely publishing RDB data into corresponding XML format based on schema mapping between XML and RDB, which is the first tier named Static Transformation Tier in the three-tired structure. On the basis of static transformation tier, we transform semi-structure data query, i.e. query on XML from user interface into SQL on the corresponding bottom RDB and return back the result data in XML format, which is the second tier named Dynamic Query Tier. At last, synchronous updating for the virtual XML and bottom RDB is carried out as the third tier named Synchronous Updating Tier. All the three tiers' integration is realized through the middleware, which is also offered in this paper.