Databases: Semistructured Data
This course is one of five self-paced courses on the topic of Databases, originating as one of Stanford's three inaugural massive open online courses released in the fall of 2011. The original "Databases" courses are now all available on edx.org.
Part of the Databases series, this is a standalone course; learners seeking to develop an understanding of topics in this course do not need to take other Databases courses. This course covers the JSON and XML standards for semistructured data, along with query languages and schema declaration features for XML.
- The XML Data section of this course introduces the XML model for semistructured and self-describing data, including DTDs and some features of XML Schema.
- The JSON Data section of this course introduces the JSON model for human-readable structured or semistructured data.
- The XPath and XQuery section of this course covers the XPath language for processing XML data, along with many features of the more advanced XQuery language.
- The XSLT section of this course provides a general introduction to the XSLT rule-based language for querying and transforming XML data.

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Frequently asked questions
How long will it take to go through the course material?
All courses in the Databases series are self-paced and include videos, quizzes, and/or exercises. The courses vary considerably in length and complexity, and some students work faster than others, so we're not able to predict an individual time commitment.
What background do I need?
The series of courses does not assume prior knowledge of any specific topics, however a solid computer science foundation -- a reasonable amount of programming, as well as knowledge of basic computer science theory -- will make the material more accessible.
Do I need to buy a textbook?
Detailed lecture notes are provided. Having a textbook in addition to the notes is not necessary, but you might want to purchase one for reference, to reinforce the core material, and as a source of additional exercises. Suggested textbooks and readings are listed as part of the materials.