Extensible Mark-up Language, commonly referred to as XML, is fast becoming the de facto standard for information distribution, with the potential to replace Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) as the data distribution of choice. However, little has been published that shows the genuine advantage this technology can have in the field of system reporting. The fact that PDF (Portable Data Files) files can be generated directly from a XML Document, based entirely on a query made against an Oracle database, is almost unknown to the average developer. This means there may be no need to rely upon Oracle Reports as your one and only choice for hardcopy output. That this XML source document can now also be used to generate Docbook, CSV (Comma Separating Variable), EXCEL, WORD and XHTML, with zero overheard on the Oracle database, may appear too fantastic to believe, until you have read this book.
Author: Antony Brown