DataDirect Technologies, a provider of data connectivity and mainframe integration and an operating company of Progress Software Corporation, has released version 3.0 of the DataDirect XQuery product, an XQuery processor that enables software developers to access and query XML, relational data, SOAP messages, EDI messages, legacy data, or a combination of data sources and provides full update support for relational data.

Server agnostic and database independent, DataDirect XQuery version 3.0 is an enterprise-grade XQuery processor that supports the W3C XQuery Recommendation of January 2007 – delivering fast, reliable and scalable XQuery support. DataDirect XQuery simplifies and enhances the performance of combining and processing different types of data (relational, XML, legacy, EDI, and SOAP messages) in heterogeneous environments and is recommended for Java developers working with data integration, XML-based data exchange, XML-driven Web sites, and XML publishing application scenarios.

Update Relational Databases with XQuery
For XQuery applications that need to insert, update or delete data in relational tables, DataDirect XQuery version 3.0 allows users to update relational data within XQuery. This makes the product well suited for Extract Transform Load (ETL) data migration and provides XML shredding and transparent relational updates for further ease and efficiency. Moreover, users can generate a graphical query plan to see how the DataDirect XQuery product will execute the desired query. Using this functionality, DataDirect XQuery users can tune for optimum performance.

SOA and Web Services Integration
Web services depend heavily on XML processing and data integration. In SOA, services must efficiently process XML from requests, using a variety of data sources to create a response. A service might use data from the request, data stored in relational databases, XML files and Web service calls, combining and restructuring this data to create the response. The service may need to manage XML input or output that is extremely large or complex. DataDirect XQuery version 3.0 supports the ability to create SOAP requests, specify endpoints, invoke Web services, and consume SOAP responses from the XQuery query without writing additional code. Another enhancement allows an XQuery to be exposed as a Web service for creating data services. This allows DataDirect XQuery to fit easily into any SOA.