System RX: One part relational, one part XML

Abstract

This paper describes the overall architecture and design aspects of a hybrid relational and XML database system called System RX. We believe that such a system is fundamental in the evolution of enterprise data management solutions: XML and relational data will co-exist and complement each other in enterprise solutions. Furthermore, a successful XML repository requires much of the same infrastructure that already exists in a relational database management system. Finally, XML query languages have considerable conceptual and functional overlap with relational data-flow engines. System RX is the first truly hybrid system that comingles XML and relational data, giving them equal footing. The new support for XML includes native support for storage and indexing as well as query compilation and evaluation support for the latest industry-standard query languages, SQL/XML and XQuery. By building a hybrid system, we leverage more than 20 years of data management research to advance XML technology to the same standards expected from mature relational systems. Copyright 2005 ACM.