• Chapter 1: Getting Started with Stylus Studio®
• Chapter 2: Editing and Querying XML
• Chapter 3: Converting Non-XML Files to XML
• Chapter 4: Working with XSLT
• Chapter 5: Creating XSLT Using the XSLT Mapper
• Chapter 6: Debugging Stylesheets
• Chapter 7: Defining XML Schemas
• Chapter 8: Defining Document Type Definitions
• Chapter 9: Writing XPath Expressions
• Chapter 10: Working with XQuery in Stylus Studio
  • Getting Started with XQuery in Stylus Studio
  • An XQuery Primer
  • Understanding FLWOR Expressions
  • Building an XQuery Using the Mapper
  • Working with the XQuery collection() Function
    • Using the collection() Function in Stylus Studio
    • How the collection() Function is Processed
    • Creating a Database Connection
    • Creating a collection() Statement
      • collection() Function Syntax
      • What Happens When You Create a collection() Statement?
      • Creating Multiple Connections
      • How to Create a collection() Statement
    • Other Ways to Register a Database Configuration
  • Debugging XQuery Documents
  • Creating an XQuery Scenario
  • Generating XQuery Documentation
  • Using XQuery to Invoke a Web Service
  • Generating Java Code for XQuery
• Chapter 11: Composing Web Service Calls
• Chapter 12: Accessing Relational Data as XML
• Chapter 13: Building XML Pipelines
• Chapter 14: Publishing XML Data
• Chapter 15: Integrating with Third-Party File Systems
• Chapter 16: Extending Stylus Studio
• Chapter 17: The Stylus Studio Java API
• Chapter 18: Stylus Studio GUI Reference

Home > Online Product Documentation > Table of Contents > Creating a collection() Statement

Creating a collection() Statement

This topic describes how to create a collection() statement in your XQuery code automatically. If you prefer, you can always write the collection() statement manually. Regardless of how you input the collection() statement in your XQuery code, Stylus Studio will be able to execute it only if you have created a database connection for the database associated with the table or view referenced in the collection() function calls and have registered that connection with the XQuery document.

collection() Function Syntax

The collection() function takes as its argument a URI that identifies a specific database table or view, such as this function referencing the title column of the books table in the pubs2 database:

collection("pubs2.dbo.books")/books/title

You can always edit collection() functions created by Stylus Studio. As long as they refer to an object that is available based on the database connection associated with the XQuery document, the collection() function will execute successfully. See Choosing a Database Object for more information on this topic.

What Happens When You Create a collection() Statement?

You create a collection() statement by selecting the table or view you want to query from the File Explorer window, and dropping it on the editing pane of the XQuery Source tab in the XQuery Editor. When you drop the table or view on the editing pane, Stylus Studio

Once the database connection information is registered with the XQuery document, you can expand the database nodes in the schema pane to display individual table and view columns.

Creating Multiple Connections

When you drop an object on the editing pane from the File Explorer window, Stylus Studio displays the connection information in the schema pane of the XQuery Editor. If you then drag and drop another object, Stylus Studio either

A new collection() statement is created for each object you drop on the editing pane of the XQuery editor.

How to Create a collection() Statement

To create a collection() function:

Optionally, display table and view columns by selecting Read Structure from the table or view shortcut menu (right-click).

Optionally, drop the table or view on the schema pane of the XQuery Source tab. If you do this, you must then drag the desired table or view from the schema pane to the editing pane to create the collection() statement.

Stylus Studio creates the collection() statement based on the table or view you selected in step 4. It also displays the table's or view's database in the schema pane of the XQuery Editor (see Figure 333).