How do Java Xquery technologies fit ?

[paul agbetile]

Hi, I am about to embark on a project that will require me accessing XML
sources as well as relational databases and would really appreciate some
help in trying to navigate through alot of what has me confused.

Firstly I should mention I am new to XQJ and Xquery. I started a few days
ago with Michael Kay's "Learn XQuery in 10 Minutes" tutorial which I found
really helpful and have written a few queries since.
I am struggling to understand where XQJ ends and products like Saxon and
datadirect Xquery begin. What I am also wondering is the extent to which
products like datadirect Xquery have utilised the XQJ API to provide easy
access to a relational database and how an XML view of a relational database
can be derrived ?
My only guess at the moment is that it makes an SQL call to retrieve all the
column names and builds some sort of internal schema using this ?

I'm I right in thinking that the XQJ API alone offers no such automatic
connection to table columns in a non XML relational database. If this is the
case my questions is whether Saxon can be modified to do this (if at all
advisable) and what work I would need to do to achieve this.

At present my assumptions range from having to write my own JDBC driver
(that can generically talk to several databases) as well as devising some
sort of Xquery to SQL translation. I noticed when playing with the
evaluation version of DataDirect Xquery that it loaded what appears to be a
saxon module ? This again has me confused as to how all these technologies
fit in with one another.

Thanks,
Paul
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