SQL Server 2000 will function as a key backbone piece of Microsoft's .Net architecture. SQL Server 2000 supports XML Path Language queries, which give the developer the ability to access the database over HTTP using a URL address. The XPath standard is a World Wide Web Consortium recommendation that's now in the approval process. IBM's XML support for DB2 includes the ability to parse XML documents into specific parts stored in DB2 tables. The DB2 XML Extender provides the ability to store an entire XML document or only specific pieces in the database.
Users then can retrieve all or part of the document.
At the same time, IBM has wrapped its arms around Java as an additional way to program the database.