Topic: can XML replace a database?

I have two projects ahead of me that i could possibly realise in XML (as far as my knowledge of xml goes). I just need to know if it is feasable to do them in XML or if a database would be better:

Project one would be a table of details (lets say cars) like this:

Make/Model       Color        Any good?;-)   Extras

Porsche Turbo    seal grey    yes            radar detector fitted

BMW M3           fly yellow   yes	     smg II

Volvo            rust         no             a sticker

It usually has around 100 entries and is updated frequently. The final HTML and PDF documents should always have the list sorted by car make.

Project two would be a real estate database of the same style as the above.

I like XML because the car list should be available via PDF as well, so i don't have to update two documents anymore.

Which one would be better for the two projects?

Can someone point me to a tutorial with XML and how to display tabular data.

<´¯`·.¸ Patric ¸.·´¯`>

The poster has demanded we remove all his contributions, less he takes legal action.
We have done so.
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Don't follow his example - seek real life help first.

patric design: I did throw some ideas about this around a few years ago but I agree with InI on this.

Using an XML file as your DB relies on the browser not just being XML enabled but capable of processing XSL, XSLT, etc. and that really restricts what you can do (unless you do the processing server-side and I suspect you'd be better off using a DB anyway). It'll also be slower than using a DB.

If you want to also produce PDFs then I'd still recommend you store things in a DB and dynamically using server-side scripting - see:
http://faq.ozoneasylum.com/815/

XML is just another weapon in your arsenal and should be deployed where the circumstances require it and I don't think using it as a DB is a good use of XML

~glances at post count and wanders off to mind a party~

___________________
Emps

FAQs: Emperor

I won't even bother explaining how I found this old post but thought it was interesting that Oracle now has XML DB:

quote:

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Oracle XML DB
Oracle XML DB is a feature of the Oracle Database. It provides a high-performance, native XML storage and retrieval technology. It fully absorbs the W3C XML data model into the Oracle Database, and provides new standard access methods for navigating and querying XML. With Oracle XML DB, you get all the advantages of relational database technology plus the advantages of XML.

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http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/xml/xmldb/index.html

: . . DHTML Slice Puzzle : . . .