• 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
    • What is XQuery?
    • What is an XQuery?
    • The Stylus Studio XQuery Editor
  • Building an XQuery Using the Mapper
  • Debugging XQuery Documents
  • Creating an XQuery Scenario
• Chapter 11: Composing Web Service Calls
• Chapter 12: Accessing Relational Data as XML
• Chapter 13: Extending Stylus Studio
• Chapter 14: Stylus Studio GUI Reference

Home > Online Product Documentation > Table of Contents > Getting Started with XQuery in Stylus Studio

Getting Started with XQuery in Stylus Studio

This section describes working with XQuery in Stylus Studio. It covers the following topics:

What is XQuery?

XML Query (XQuery) is the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) language for querying XML. XQuery is a language developed by the W3C XML Query working group.

Example

The XQuery grammar allows you to define expressions like those shown in the following sample query, R-Q2.xquery:

<result>
               
	{
               
		for $i in document("items.xml")/items/item_tuple
               
		let $b := document("bids.xml")//bid_tuple[itemno = $i/itemno]
               
		where contains($i/description,"Bicycle")
               
		order by $i/itemno
               
		return
               
		<item_tuple>
               
			{$i/itemno}
               
			{$i/description}
               
			<high_bid>
               
				{ max ( for $c in $b/bid return xs:decimal($c) ) }
               
			</high_bid>
               
		</item_tuple>
               
	}
               
</result>
               

            

This and other XQuery examples are provided in the Stylus Studio examples\XQuery directory.

Sources for Additional XQuery Information

For more information about XQuery, visit http://www.w3.org/XML/Query (the W3C page for XML Query).

What is an XQuery?

In Stylus Studio, an XQuery is a document with a .xquery extension. Stylus Studio expects documents with this extension to contain a query expressed using the XML Query language.

The Stylus Studio XQuery Editor

In Stylus Studio, you use the XQuery editor's textual editor and graphical interfaces to work with XQuery. The XQuery editor, which consists of two tabs, XQuery Source and Mapper, is displayed any time the active document within Stylus Studio is an XQuery document. You can use either or both tabs to compose an XQuery.

By default, Stylus Studio gives new XQuery files a .xquery extension. You can save XQueries using any extension you choose. If you decide to use a different extension, use the File Types page of the Options dialog box to associate that extension with the XQuery editor.

XQuery Source Tab

You can use the XQuery Source tab to view, compose, preview, and debug your XQuery. For example, you can edit query text directly, set breakpoints, and debug your XQuery on this tab. The tab is divided into two panes:

Figure 271. XQuery Source Tab

Stylus Studio's Sense:X automatic completion feature is supported for XQuery - Sense:X simplifies editing and helps ensure well-formed XML for queries you compose manually.

You can define other XQuery editor settings on the Editor General and Editor Format pages of the Options dialog box. (Click Tools | Options, and expand Application Settings to make these pages available.)

You can preview the XQuery result by clicking the Preview Result button ( ). Results are displayed in the Preview window at the bottom of the XQuery editor.

Mapper Tab

The Mapper tab provides an interface that allows you to compose and view your XQuery graphically.

Figure 272. XQuery Editor Mapper Tab

The Mapper tab consists of these areas:

As with the XQuery Source tab, you can preview XQuery results from the Mapper tab by clicking the Preview Result button ( ). Debugging, however, can be performed from the XQuery Source tab only.

For more information

See Building an XQuery Using the Mapper to learn more about the features of the XQuery editor Mapper tab.

XQuery Source and Mapper Tab Interaction

Changes made to an XQuery on the Mapper tab are reflected on the XQuery Source tab, and vice versa. For example, if you start writing your XQuery on the XQuery Source tab and then click the Mapper tab, Stylus Studio displays a graphic representation of your XQuery code. If you next edit the XQuery graphically (adding a function or a FLWOR block and mapping the return value to a node in the target structure, for example) and then return to the XQuery Source tab, you will see that Stylus Studio has updated the XQuery code based on your edits on the Mapper tab. Viewing the code on the XQuery Source tab that Stylus Studio creates based on actions performed on the Mapper tab can be a useful aid to learning XQuery syntax.