Toad for Oracle & XML

Jeff Smith — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Oracle introduced support for XML in the relational database going back at least to about the 8i release. Toad for Oracle introduced formal support for XML in the 8.0 release.

XML and Toad v8.0 – v9.7

As you browse or query an object, if it contains an XML

via XML data type
via VARCHAR2/CLOB with XML header to start the string

Toad offers to display and edit the data with the XML editor as shown below.

You invoke the editor by double-clicking on the cell containing the XML string.

XML and Toad v10+

One of the ‘victims’ of Toad’s overhaul to support Unicode for the v10 release was the XML editor. The component was not able to support our requirement for Unicode. Rather than risk data corruption, it was decided to deprecate the feature (for more information, please consult the v10 Release Notes found under the Help menu.) Does this mean you can no longer use Toad to interact with and manage your XML data in the database? The answer is ‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no!’

Out of the box, when you attempt to edit XML data in Toad, it will be displayed in a standard text pop-up editor.

But that’s an icky way to edit and maintain my XML, Jeff!

No arguments here, but Toad gives you an excellent option going forward. I think we can all agree that Toad will never be the best word processor or FTP client available (although our FTP is pretty darn sweet!). The same can probably be said for our older XML editor. It pales in comparison to some of the free and pay editors out there. Check out Altova’s XMLSpy for starters. Toad now allows you to define an external editor for working with XML.

View – Options – Executables – XML Editor

Now when I invoke the editor by double-clicking on an XML cell, Toad sends the XML text directly to my editor of choice. When I’m done, I can send the data back to Toad to COMMIT my work.

I’ve chosen a tool called XML Marker. I don’t endorse it, and please read the ULA before choosing it or any other product for your organization. Microsoft also has something that takes a Notepad approach to XML. Check them out here.

I must admit I was a bit taken aback when this change occurred. But now that I’ve had a chance to digest it, and investigate some of the XML editors available out there, I’m pretty happy with how it’s turned out. I’m pretty sure the existing XML editor that Toad was using hadn’t been enhanced since it made its debut in v8. Now letting Toad tackle the database stuff and having a best-of-breed XML editor handle the XML stuff that Toad can talk to, I have the perfect combination!

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Toad for Oracle & XML