Binary Data - Revision history

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2022-07-25T13:59:14Z

Text replacement - "ub-director" to "ubdirector"

CG at 07:57, 11 May 2022

2022-05-11T07:57:26Z

CG at 11:25, 31 March 2022

2022-03-31T11:25:20Z

CG: /* Storage */

2015-11-18T13:24:08Z

Storage

CG at 23:24, 17 June 2012

2012-06-17T23:24:27Z

CG at 16:25, 19 November 2011

2011-11-19T16:25:24Z

CG: Created page with "Since {{Version|7.0}}, the BaseX store has been extended to also support binary (''raw'') files. Each database may contain both XML documents and binary files. Both XML and b..."

2011-11-19T16:25:01Z

Created page with "Since {{Version|7.0}}, the BaseX store has been extended to also support binary (''raw'') files. Each database may contain both XML documents and binary files. Both XML and b..."

New page

Since {{Version|7.0}}, the BaseX store has been extended to also support binary (''raw'') files. Each [[database]] may contain both XML documents and binary files. Both XML and binary data is handled in a uniform way: a unique database path serves as key, and the contents can be retrieved via database commands, XQuery, or the various APIs.

==Storage==

XML documents are stored in a proprietary format to speed up XPath axis traversals and update operations, and raw data is stored in its original format in a dedicated sub-directory (called <code>"raw"</code>). Several reasons exist why we did not extend our existing storage to binary data:

* '''Good Performance''': the file system generally performs very well when it comes to the retrieval and update of binary files.
* '''Key/Value Stores''': we do not want to compete with existing key/value database solutions. Again, this is not what we are after.
* '''Our Focus''': our main focus is the efficient storage of hierarchical data structures and file formats such as XML or (more and more) JSON. The efficient storage of arbitrary binary resources would introduce many new challenges that would distract us from more pressing tasks.

For some use cases, the chosen database design may bring along certain limitations:

* '''Performance Limits''': most file system are not capable of handling thousands or millions of binary resources in a single directory in an efficient way. The same problem happens if you have a large number of XML documents that need to imported in or exported from a BaseX database. The general solution to avoid this bottleneck is to distribute the relevant binaries in additional sub-directories.
* '''Keys''': if you want to use arbitrary keys for XML and binary resources, which are not supported by the underlying file system, you may either add an XML document in your database that contains all key/path mappings.

In the latter case, a key/value store might be the better option anyway.

==Usage==

More information on how to store, retrieve, update and export binary data is found in the general [[Database]] documentation.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 This article is part of the [[Advanced User's Guide]].
-The BaseX store also provides support for ''raw files'' (binary data). A database may contain both XML documents and raw files. XML and binary data is handled in a uniform way: a unique database path serves as key, and the contents can be retrieved via database commands, XQuery, or the various APIs.
+The BaseX store also provides support for binary resources. A database may contain both XML documents and binary files, which are handled in a uniform way: A unique database path serves as key, and the contents can be retrieved via database commands, XQuery, or the various APIs.
 ==Storage==
-XML documents are stored in a proprietary format to speed up XPath axis traversals and update operations, and raw data is stored in its original format in a dedicated sub-directory (called  <code>raw</code>). Several reasons exist why we did not extend our existing storage to binary data:
+XML documents are stored in a proprietary format to speed up XPath axis traversals and update operations, and binary files are stored unchanged in a dedicated subdirectory (called  <code>raw</code>). Several reasons exist for using the traditional file system as storage:
-* '''Good Performance''': the file system generally performs very well when it comes to the retrieval and update of binary files.
+* '''Good Performance''': The file system generally performs very well when it comes to the retrieval and update of binary files.
-* '''Key/Value Stores''': we do not want to compete with existing key/value database solutions. Again, this is not what we are after.
+* '''Key/Value Stores''': We do not want to compete with existing key/value database solutions.
 * '''Our Focus''': our main focus is the efficient storage of hierarchical data structures and file formats such as XML or (more and more) JSON. The efficient storage of arbitrary binary resources would introduce many new challenges that would distract us from more pressing tasks.

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:25, 31 March 2022
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	This ~~page~~ is ~~linked from~~ the [[~~Database~~]] ~~page~~.	+	This article is part of the [[Advanced User's Guide]].

	The BaseX store also provides support for ''raw files'' (binary data). A database may contain both XML documents and raw files. XML and binary data is handled in a uniform way: a unique database path serves as key, and the contents can be retrieved via database commands, XQuery, or the various APIs.		The BaseX store also provides support for ''raw files'' (binary data). A database may contain both XML documents and raw files. XML and binary data is handled in a uniform way: a unique database path serves as key, and the contents can be retrieved via database commands, XQuery, or the various APIs.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 This page is linked from the [[Database]] page.
-Since {{Version|7.0}}, the BaseX store has been extended to also support binary (''raw'') files. Each database may contain both XML documents and binary files. Both XML and binary data is handled in a uniform way: a unique database path serves as key, and the contents can be retrieved via database commands, XQuery, or the various APIs.
+The BaseX store also provides support for ''raw files'' (binary data). A database may contain both XML documents and raw files. XML and binary data is handled in a uniform way: a unique database path serves as key, and the contents can be retrieved via database commands, XQuery, or the various APIs.
 ==Storage==

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:25, 19 November 2011
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	Since {{Version\|7.0}}, the BaseX store has been extended to also support binary (''raw'') files. Each [[database]] may contain both XML documents and binary files. Both XML and binary data is handled in a uniform way: a unique database path serves as key, and the contents can be retrieved via database commands, XQuery, or the various APIs.	+	This page is linked from the [[Database]] page.
		+
		+	Since {{Version\|7.0}}, the BaseX store has been extended to also support binary (''raw'') files. Each database may contain both XML documents and binary files. Both XML and binary data is handled in a uniform way: a unique database path serves as key, and the contents can be retrieved via database commands, XQuery, or the various APIs.

	==Storage==		==Storage==

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 For some use cases, the chosen database design may bring along certain limitations:
-* '''Performance Limits''': most file system are not capable of handling thousands or millions of binary resources in a single directory in an efficient way. The same problem happens if you have a large number of XML documents that need to imported in or exported from a BaseX database. The general solution to avoid this bottleneck is to distribute the relevant binaries in additional sub-directories.
+* '''Performance Limits''': most file system are not capable of handling thousands or millions of binary resources in a single directory in an efficient way. The same problem happens if you have a large number of XML documents that need to imported in or exported from a BaseX database. The general solution to avoid this bottleneck is to distribute the relevant binaries in additional subdirectories.
 * '''Keys''': if you want to use arbitrary keys for XML and binary resources, which are not supported by the underlying file system, you may either add an XML document in your database that contains all key/path mappings.