In SQL Server 2005 importing XML files became very easy.
OPENROWSET now supports the BULK keyword which lets us import XML files with ease.
A little example:
CREATE TABLE XmlImportTest
(
xmlFileName VARCHAR(300),
xml_data xml
)
GO
DECLARE @xmlFileName VARCHAR(300)
SELECT @xmlFileName = 'c:\TestXml.xml'
-- dynamic sql is just so we can use @xmlFileName variable in OPENROWSET
EXEC('
INSERT INTO XmlImportTest(xmlFileName, xml_data)
SELECT ''' + @xmlFileName + ''', xmlData
FROM
(
SELECT *
FROM OPENROWSET (BULK ''' + @xmlFileName + ''' , SINGLE_BLOB) AS XMLDATA
) AS FileImport (XMLDATA)
')
GO
SELECT * FROM XmlImportTest
DROP TABLE XmlImportTest
SINGLE_BLOB is recommended when importing XML files because only it supports all Windows encoding conversions.
