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Oracle® XML API Reference 10g Release 1 (10.1) Part No. B10789-01 |
| Contents

# Preface

This reference describes Oracle XML Developer's Kits (XDK) and Oracle XML DB APIs. It primarily lists the syntax of functions, methods, and procedures associated with these APIs.

This preface contains these topics:

- Audience

- Organization

- Related Documentation

- Conventions

## Audience

This guide is intended for developers building XML applications in Oracle.

To use this document, you need a basic understanding of object-oriented programming concepts, familiarity with Structured Query Language (SQL), and working knowledge of application development using either C or C++.

## Organization

This document is divided into two parts, for C and C++ language APIs.

### Part I, " XML APIs for C "

This part provides information about XML related C APIs. Please note that starting with this release, a new unified group of APIs has been developed to enable consistent development interface both for client-side and server-side applications. The previous C APIs are still available in this release for legacy accommodation, but their use is strongly discouraged. Please note that these separate C APIs will be deprecated in the next Oracle release.

Unified C APIs provided here include:

- Chapter 1, " Mapping Between Old and New C APIs"

- Chapter 2, " Datatypes for C"

- Chapter 3, " Package Callback APIs for C"

- Chapter 4, " Package DOM APIs for C"

- Chapter 5, " Package Range APIs for C"

- Chapter 6, " Package SAX APIs for C"

- Chapter 7, " Package Schema APIs for C"

- Chapter 8, " Package Traversal APIs for C"

- Chapter 9, " Package XML APIs for C"

- Chapter 10, " Package XPath APIs for C"

- Chapter 11, " Package XPointer APIs for C"

- Chapter 12, " Package XSLT APIs for C"

- Chapter 13, " Package XSLTVM APIs for C"

### Part II, " XML APIs for C++ "

This part provides information about XML related C++ APIs:

- Chapter 14, " Package Ctx APIs for C++"

- Chapter 15, " Package Dom APIs for C++"

- Chapter 16, " Package IO APIs for C++"

- Chapter 17, " Package OracleXml APIs for C++"

- Chapter 18, " Package Parser APIs for C++"

- Chapter 19, " Package Tools APIs for C++"

- Chapter 20, " Package XPath APIs for C++"

- Chapter 21, " Package XPointer APIs for C++"

- Chapter 22, " Package Xsl APIs for C++"

## Related Documentation

For more information, see these Oracle resources:

- Oracle Database Concepts

- Oracle Database SQL Reference

- Oracle Database Application Developer's Guide - Object-Relational Features

- Oracle Database New Features

- Oracle XML Developer's Kit Programmer's Guide

- Oracle XML DB Developer's Guide

Many of the examples in this book use the sample schemas of the seed database, which is installed by default when you install Oracle. Refer to Oracle Database Sample Schemas for information on how these schemas were created and how you can use them yourself.

In North America, printed documentation is available for sale in the Oracle Store at

    http://oraclestore.oracle.com/

Other customers can contact their Oracle representative to purchase printed documentation.

To download free release notes, installation documentation, white papers, or other collateral, please visit the Oracle Technology Network (OTN). You must register online before using OTN; registration is free and can be done at

    http://otn.oracle.com/admin/account/membership/

If you already have a username and password for OTN, then you can go directly to the documentation section of the OTN Web site at

    http://otn.oracle.com/documentation/

## Conventions

This section describes the conventions used in the text and code examples of this documentation set. It describes:

- Conventions in Text

- Conventions in Code Examples

Conventions in Text

We use various conventions in text to help you more quickly identify special terms. The following table describes those conventions and provides examples of their use.

Convention | Meaning | Example
--- | --- | ---
Bold | Bold typeface indicates terms that are defined in the text or terms that appear in a glossary, or both. | When you specify this clause, you create an index-organized table.
Italics | Italic typeface indicates book titles or emphasis. | Oracle Database Concepts Ensure that the recovery catalog and target database do not reside on the same disk.
`UPPERCASE monospace (fixed-width font)` | Uppercase monospace typeface indicates elements supplied by the system. Such elements include parameters, privileges, datatypes, RMAN keywords, SQL keywords, SQL*Plus or utility commands, packages and methods, as well as system-supplied column names, database objects and structures, usernames, and roles. | You can specify this clause only for a `NUMBER` column. You can back up the database by using the `BACKUP` command. Query the `TABLE_NAME` column in the `USER_TABLES` data dictionary view. Use the `DBMS_STATS`.`GENERATE_STATS` procedure.
`lowercase monospace (fixed-width font)` | Lowercase monospace typeface indicates executables, filenames, directory names, and sample user-supplied elements. Such elements include computer and database names, net service names, and connect identifiers, as well as user-supplied database objects and structures, column names, packages and classes, usernames and roles, program units, and parameter values. Note: Some programmatic elements use a mixture of UPPERCASE and lowercase. Enter these elements as shown. | Enter `sqlplus` to open SQL*Plus. The password is specified in the `orapwd` file. Back up the datafiles and control files in the `/disk1/oracle/dbs` directory. The `department_id`, `department_name`, and `location_id` columns are in the `hr.departments` table. Set the `QUERY_REWRITE_ENABLED` initialization parameter to `true.` Connect as `oe` user. The `JRepUtil` class implements these methods.
`lowercase monospace (fixed-width font) italic` | Lowercase monospace italic font represents placeholders or variables. | You can specify the `parallel_clause`. Run `U` `old_release``.SQL` where `old_release` refers to the release you installed prior to upgrading.

Conventions in Code Examples

Code examples illustrate SQL, PL/SQL, SQL*Plus, or other command-line statements. They are displayed in a monospace (fixed-width) font and separated from normal text as shown in this example:

    SELECT username FROM dba_users WHERE username = 'MIGRATE';

The following table describes typographic conventions used in code examples and provides examples of their use.

Convention | Meaning | Example
--- | --- | ---
[ ] | Brackets enclose one or more optional items. Do not enter the brackets. | `DECIMAL (``digits``[ ,` `precision``])`
{ } | Braces enclose two or more items, one of which is required. Do not enter the braces. | `{ENABLE | DISABLE}`
| | A vertical bar represents a choice of two or more options within brackets or braces. Enter one of the options. Do not enter the vertical bar. | `{ENABLE | DISABLE}` `[COMPRESS | NOCOMPRESS]`
`...` | Horizontal ellipsis points indicate either: That we have omitted parts of the code that are not directly related to the example That you can repeat a portion of the code | `CREATE TABLE ... AS` `subquery``;` `SELECT` `col1``,` `col2``, ... ,` `coln` `FROM employees;`
. . | Vertical ellipsis points indicate that we have omitted several lines of code not directly related to the example. | `//process information in buffer` `.` `.` `blob.close();`
Other notation | You must enter symbols other than brackets, braces, vertical bars, and ellipsis points as shown. | `acctbal NUMBER(11,2);` `acct CONSTANT NUMBER(4) := 3;`
`Italics` | Italicized text indicates placeholders or variables for which you must supply particular values. | `CONNECT SYSTEM/``system_password` `DB_NAME =` `database_name`
`UPPERCASE` | Uppercase typeface indicates elements supplied by the system. We show these terms in uppercase in order to distinguish them from terms you define. Unless terms appear in brackets, enter them in the order and with the spelling shown. However, because these terms are not case sensitive, you can enter them in lowercase. | `SELECT last_name, employee_id FROM employees;` `SELECT * FROM USER_TABLES;` `DROP TABLE hr.employees;`
`lowercase` | Lowercase typeface indicates programmatic elements that you supply. For example, lowercase indicates names of tables, columns, or files. Note: Some programmatic elements use a mixture of UPPERCASE and lowercase. Enter these elements as shown. | `SELECT last_name, employee_id FROM employees;` `sqlplus hr/hr` `CREATE USER mjones IDENTIFIED BY ty3MU9;`

## Documentation Accessibility

Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation accessible, with good usability, to the disabled community. To that end, our documentation includes features that make information available to users of assistive technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to facilitate access by the disabled community. Standards will continue to evolve over time, and Oracle is actively engaged with other market-leading technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be accessible to all of our customers. For additional information, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program Web site at

    http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/

Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation

JAWS, a Windows screen reader, may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise empty line; however, JAWS may not always read a line of text that consists solely of a bracket or brace.

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or organizations that Oracle does not own or control. Oracle neither evaluates nor makes any representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.