Praveen Srivatsa discusses how SQL Server supports non-relational data like documents, images, and videos through features like XML, CLR, FileStream, and spatial data types. SQL Server can store relational and non-relational data together to enable integrated business scenarios. New data types like HierarchyID and improvements to XML and spatial data types in SQL Server 2008 help developers work with hierarchical and location-based data. SQL Server provides reliability, security, and programming interfaces for working with non-relational data alongside relational data and queries.

2. Praveen Srivatsa
Director, AsthraSoft Consulting
Microsoft Regional Director, Bangalore
Session Code:

3. Why beyond relational?
SQL support for non-relational data
A large part of the world’s data is non-relational. Think
Emails, Pictures, Videos, Chat transcripts, Office docs etc.
SQL Server has support for
XML and CLR since SQL 2005
FileStream, Spatial and HierarchyID since SQL 2008
Integrated business scenarios
Attachments, free text documents, notes, images
Medical/Scientific data
Geo spatial, location aware data

4. SQL Server 2005 and XML data
Native XML data type
XML Schema support in database
Mapping of SQL Server types to XSD types
XQuery support
Exposed as methods on XML data type
XQuery strings are input to these methods
XML Indexes
Many improvements to SELECT...FOR XML
XML input from file system through BULK data provider
.NET XML APIs available through SQLCLR
SQLXML functionality ships with database
SSIS supports XML input through adapter

5. SQL Server 2008 XML
Enhancements
Mapping of new date/time data types to XSD
types
Support for more XML Schema constructs
Union and list types
Many industry-standard XSD schemas use this
Lax validation of xsd:any wildcards
Office documents and other XSD schemas use this
XQuery support for 'let' clause in FLWOR
expressions
XML DML supports insert of XML data type

6. Using XML in SQL Server

7. Reliability, Scalability, and Security
SQL Server loads the .NET runtime in-process
and guarantees reliability/scalability/security
.NET 2.0 hosting APIs allow host control
All .NET resources managed and tracked by SQL Server
.NET 2.0 libraries must be safe to run in SQL Server
System assemblies divided into 'safe' and 'unsafe'
User code divided into three classifications
Safe - in process calls only, code is reliable
External - some out of process calls, code is reliable
Unsafe - all out of process, reliability not guaranteed

8. User-Defined Operations
CLR Supports User Defined Data
types, functions, aggregates and table valued
functions
Scalar UDFs without data access is where .NET
excels
SQL Server 2008 include types exposed using
SQLCLR
HierarchyID
Geography
Geometry

9. TVF and UDA with SQL CLR

10. Filestream storage
Storing large binary objects in databases is
suboptimal
Large objects take buffers in database memory
Large objects cause database fragmentation
In file system however, quot;updatequot; is delete and insert
quot;Before imagequot; in an update is not deleted immediately
Storing all related data in a database adds
Transactional consistency
Integrated, point-in-time backup and restore
Single storage and query vehicle

11. SQL Server 2008 Filestream
A filegroup for filestream storage is declared using
DDL
Filestream storage is tied to a database
The filegroup is mapped to a directory
Must be NTFS file system
Caution: Files deleteable from file system if you have
appropriate permissions
VARBINARY(MAX) columns can be defined with
FILESTREAM attribute
Table must also have UNIQUEIDENTIFIER column
Filestream storage not available for other large types
Data is stored in the file system

12. Programming with Filestreams
Filestream columns are available with SQL
methods
If SQL is used, indistinguishable from
varbinary(max)
Filestream can be accessed and modified using
file IO
PathName function retrieves a symbolic path name
Acquire context with
GET_FILESTREAM_TRANSACTION_CONTEXT
Use OpenSqlFilestream to get a file handle

13. FileStream in SQL

14. Hierarchical Data
Hierarchical data consists of nodes and edges
Hierarchical data can be modeled in relational
as
Adjacency model - separate column for edge
Most common, column can either be in same or separate
table
Path Enumeration model - column w/hierarchical
path
Nested Set model - adds quot;leftquot; and quot;rightquot; columns
to represent edges, which must be maintained
separately

15. SQL Server and Hierarchical Data
SQL Server 2005 adds Native Hierarchical
Queries
Recursive common table expression
ANSI-standard
Hierarchical Data can be modeled as XML
XML data type uses ORDPATH format to store
elements, attributes and hierarchical constructs
Variable length to 900 bytes
Comparable type - can be used as index key

16. SQL Server and Hierarchical Data
In SQL 2008, new Built-In Data Type -
HierarchyID
SQLCLR based system UDT
Useable on .NET clients directly as SqlHierarchyId
An implementation of path enumeration model
Uses ORDPATH internally for speed

17. Working with HierarchyID
Nodes can be added with serializable transaction
After computing last child
UPDATE Org
SET @last_child = LastChild = EmployeeId.GetDescendant(LastChild,NULL)
WHERE EmployeeId = @mgrid
INSERT Org (EmployeeId, EmployeeName)
VALUES(@last_child, @EmpName)
Node can be added with error detection
BEGIN
INS_EMP:
SELECT @last_child = MAX(EmployeeId) FROM Org_T1
WHERE EmployeeId.GetAncestor(1) = @mgrid
INSERT Org_T1 (EmployeeId, EmployeeName)
SELECT @mgrid.GetDescendant(@last_child, NULL), @EmpName
-- On error, return to INS_EMP to recompute @last_child
IF @@error <> 0 GOTO INS_EMP
END

18. Uisng the HierarchyID

19. Spatial Data
Spatial data provides answers to location-based
queries
Which roads intersect the Microsoft campus?
Does my land claim overlap yours?
List all of the Italian restaurants within 5 kilometers
Spatial data is part of almost every database
If your database includes an address

20. SQL Server 2008 and Spatial Data
SQL Server supports two spatial data types
GEOMETRY - flat earth model
GEOGRAPHY - round earth model
Both types support all of the instanciable OGC
types
InstanceOf method can distinguish between them
Supports two dimension data
X and Y or Lat and Long members
Z member - elevation (user-defined semantics)
M member - measure (user-defined semantics)

21. GEOGRAPHY Requirements
GEOGRAPHY type has additional requirements
Coordinate order is Latitude/Longitude
This will be changed to Longitude/Latitude before
RTM
Exterior polygon rings must have their
describing coordinates in counter-clockwise
order (left-hand rule) with interior rings (holes)
in clockwise-order (right-hand rule)
A single GEOGRAPHY object cannot span more
than a logical hemisphere

22. Sample Query
Which roads intersect Microsoft’s main campus?
SELECT * FROM roads WHERE roads.geom.STIntersects(@ms)=1

23. Working with Spatial Data

24. Beyond relational?
Making sense of your data
SQL Server stores relational and non-relational
data
XML and CLR support improves with each release
Filestream storage stores BLOBs on file system
Buffer, fragmentation savings
Spatial data has
Library of spatial functions
Three standard input and output formats
Design all the data for your applications and choose
the right model to deploy the data.

27. Related Content
Breakout Sessions (session codes and titles)
Interactive Theater Sessions (session codes and titles)
Hands-on Labs (session codes and titles)
Hands-on Labs (session codes and titles)

28. Track Resources
Resource 1
Resource 2
Resource 3
Resource 4

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