XQuery Interview Questions and Answers for 2 years experience
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What is XQuery?
- Answer: XQuery is a query language for XML data. It's designed to retrieve and manipulate data stored in XML documents and databases. It allows for complex queries, including filtering, sorting, and restructuring of XML data.
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What are the key differences between XQuery and XPath?
- Answer: XPath is used for navigating XML documents and selecting nodes. XQuery, on the other hand, is a complete query language that allows for more complex operations like filtering, sorting, restructuring, and data manipulation beyond simple node selection. XPath is often *used within* XQuery expressions.
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Explain the FLWOR expression in XQuery.
- Answer: FLWOR is an acronym for **F**or, **L**et, **W**here, **O**rder **By**, **R**eturn. It's the core construct for expressing complex queries. `For` iterates over sequences, `Let` assigns variables, `Where` filters results, `OrderBy` sorts results, and `Return` specifies the output.
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How do you select all elements with a specific tag name in XQuery?
- Answer: `/bookstore/book` (assuming a root element 'bookstore' containing 'book' elements). This uses XPath within the XQuery expression.
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How do you select attributes in XQuery?
- Answer: Using the `@` symbol. For example, `bookstore/book/@isbn` selects the 'isbn' attribute from each 'book' element.
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Explain the use of predicates in XQuery.
- Answer: Predicates are used to filter node selections. They are placed within square brackets `[]` after a node selection. For example, `bookstore/book[@price > 25]` selects books with a price greater than 25.
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How do you handle namespaces in XQuery?
- Answer: Namespaces are declared using the `declare namespace` keyword, assigning a prefix to a namespace URI. Then, this prefix is used to qualify element and attribute names within the query.
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What are XQuery functions? Give some examples.
- Answer: XQuery provides built-in functions for various tasks like string manipulation (e.g., `substring`, `concat`), number operations, date/time functions, and more. User-defined functions can also be created.
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How do you sort results in XQuery?
- Answer: Using the `order by` clause in a FLWOR expression. For example, `order by $book/title` sorts the results by the book title.
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Explain the concept of sequence in XQuery.
- Answer: A sequence is an ordered list of items. In XQuery, many expressions return sequences of nodes or atomic values. Understanding sequences is crucial for working with XQuery's data model.
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How to construct XML documents using XQuery?
- Answer: XQuery can construct new XML documents using element constructors. For example: `
`Example 10
- Answer: XQuery can construct new XML documents using element constructors. For example: `
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Explain the difference between `fn:data()` and `fn:string()` functions?
- Answer: `fn:data()` extracts the typed value from an item, while `fn:string()` converts any value to its string representation.
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How to handle XML documents with mixed content using XQuery?
- Answer: Use `text()` to extract text content, considering text nodes interspersed with elements.
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Explain XQuery update facility.
- Answer: XQuery Update allows modifications to XML data, including insertion, deletion, and replacement of nodes and attributes.
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What are some common XQuery error handling techniques?
- Answer: Using `try...catch` blocks to handle exceptions, and checking for empty sequences before processing.
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How to optimize XQuery queries for performance?
- Answer: Using indexes, avoiding unnecessary calculations, and utilizing appropriate data structures.
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Explain the role of XML Schema in XQuery.
- Answer: XML Schema defines the structure and data types of XML documents, enabling XQuery to validate data and perform type-safe queries.
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What are some popular XQuery processors?
- Answer: BaseX, eXist-db, Saxon.
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