Integrating Data Using XML Data Synthesis

I must admit I've only just come across this, but it looks interesting anyway. "Oracle XML Data Synthesis (XDS)" is "designed to solve the problem of accessing disparate information sources like package applications (Oracle 11i, SAP, PeopleSoft), databases (Oracle, DB2, SQL Server), files (MS Excel, XML) and aggregating the information from these kind of information sources in real-time. XDS provides an easy-to-use declarative framework to plug-in and query across the information sources. Instead of writing custom applications to access information from disparate information sources, customers have a choice of using XDS to build their information integration applications. The benefits are similar to what SQL provides when it comes to accessing data from databases. Oracle XDS has been designed to employ both emerging and standards-based technologies like XML, XQuery, JDBC, Web services, and J2EE Connector Architecture."

Sounds like the sort of thing someone working in data warehousing would be interested in. The "XQuery" mentioned above is one of the hot new technology areas within Oracle with native support rumoured for inclusion within 10g Release 2. All looks very interesting, and if you're looking for more information on XML Data Synthesis there's also an Oracle XML Data Synthesis overview, and an Oracleworld presentation entitled "Heterogenious XML-Based Information Integration" that are worth taking a look at.

In a similar vein, I keep meaning to post a link to Andrew Newman's blog, which you'll also find interesting if you're into the semantic web, data query languages, the WC3 'Resource Definition Framework' and uses of metadata. There's a lot of similarity between the technologies Andrew links to, together with what Oracle are trying to achieve with XDS and XQuery, and what we're trying to do with business intelligence, data warehousing and data mining. It wouldn't suprise me if we start to hear more about XML, XQuery, RDF and so on in a business intelligence context in the future, and I fully expect these sorts of technologies making their way into Oracle's BI & knowledge management products over the next few years.