Advantage of annotated XML schema decomposition

Annotated XML schema decomposition can be a solution for storing XML documents that conform to an XML schema, but where the XML schema does not readily match the definitions of the tables into which you are storing the documents.

In cases where the XML schema does not clearly match the table structure, you might need to adjust either the XML schema or the relational schema, or both, in order for the documents to fit the table structure. Changes to the XML or relational schema, however, might not always be possible or could be prohibitively expensive, especially if existing applications expect the relational schema to have a particular structure.

Annotated XML schema decomposition addresses this problem by enabling you to decompose documents that are based on new or existing XML schemas, into new or existing tables. This is possible because of the various features available in annotated XML schema decomposition. These features, which are expressed as annotations added to the XML schema documents, offer flexibility in mapping an XML schema structure to a relational table structure.