XML was designed to transport and store data, with focus on what data is. XML is nothing special. It is just plain text. Software that can handle plain text can also handle XML. However, XML-aware applications can handle the XML tags specially. The functional meaning of the tags depends on the nature of the application.

• XML stands for EXtensible Markup Language
• XML is a markup language much like HTML
• XML was designed to carry data, not to display data
• XML tags are not predefined. You must define your own tags
• XML is designed to be self-descriptive
• XML is a W3C Recommendation

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) started to develop XSL because there was a need for an XML-based style sheet language.

• XSL describes how the XML document should be displayed
• XSL consists of three parts:
  • XSLT - a language for transforming XML documents
  • XPath - a language for navigating in XML documents
  • XSL-FO - a language for formatting XML documents

SQL Server Technologies:
• Analysis Services
• Data Mining
• High Availability--Always On
• Integration Services
• Manageability
• Performance and Scale
• Programmability
• Reporting Services
• Security
• Spatial Data

PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source relational database system. It has more than 15 years of active development and a proven architecture that has earned it a strong reputation for reliability, data integrity, and correctness. It runs on all major operating systems, including Linux, UNIX (AIX, BSD, HP-UX, SGI IRIX, Mac OS X, Solaris, Tru64), and Windows. It is fully ACID compliant, has full support for foreign keys, joins, views, triggers, and stored procedures (in multiple languages). It includes most SQL92 and SQL99 data types, including INTEGER, NUMERIC, BOOLEAN, CHAR, VARCHAR, DATE, INTERVAL, and TIMESTAMP. It also supports storage of binary large objects, including pictures, sounds, or video. It has native programming interfaces for C/C++, Java, .Net, Perl, Python, Ruby, Tcl, ODBC and among others.

Oracle Database 11g delivers the benefits of grid computing with more self-management and automation, making it easier to:
• Change IT systems without risk using Real Application Testing
• Partition and compress tables to store more data and run queries faster
• Securely protect and audit data, and enable total recall of data
• Integrate and manage the lifecycle of all enterprise information
• Run your business 24 x 7 with unique maximum availability architecture

With its Microsoft Office Fluent user interface and interactive design capabilities that do not require deep database knowledge, Microsoft Office Access 2007 helps you track and report information with ease. Get started quickly with prebuilt applications that you can modify or adapt to changing business needs. Collect information through forms in e-mail or import data from external applications...