A STUDY OF NATIVE XML DATABASES Document Update, Querying, Access Control and Application Programming Interfaces in Native XML Databases

Native XML databases (NXD) are called to play a crucial role in the near future. The experience with relational databases shows that standard methods for accessing and manipulating databases are necessary if wide acceptance of these database systems is to be expected in information systems whose applications should access databases preferably through standard APIs. In this paper, the current state of APIs that provide standard access to NXD, standard query languages and standard methods for document update and access control are analyzed from the perspective acquired with our experience using NXD in information systems. Our conclusions show the weak points which still need to be improved as compared with relational databases.