How to Query XML Data in SQL Server and Convert it to JSON Format?

Learn the process of querying XML data in SQL Server and efficiently converting it to JSON format using T-SQL and XQuery.
---
How to Query XML Data in SQL Server and Convert it to JSON Format?

Working with XML data in SQL Server can offer tremendous flexibility, but sometimes, you need to convert that XML data into JSON format for better compatibility with web applications or APIs. This guide will guide you through querying XML data in SQL Server and how to efficiently convert it into JSON using T-SQL and XQuery.

Querying XML in SQL Server

First, let’s understand how to query XML data from a table in SQL Server. XML data is often stored in a column of the XML datatype. You can use T-SQL along with XQuery to extract specific data from an XML column.

Consider the following table Products containing an XML column ProductDetails:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Here’s an example XML structure in the ProductDetails column:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

To query the Name and Price of a product, you can use the following T-SQL command:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This command uses the .value() method and XQuery to extract specific elements from the XML data.

Converting XML to JSON in SQL Server

Now, let’s move on to converting the XML data to JSON format. JSON is widely used for data interchange in web applications due to its lightweight and human-readable structure.

SQL Server offers the FOR JSON clause that can be used to convert T-SQL query results into JSON format. However, since SQL Server doesn’t provide a direct mechanism to convert XML to JSON, you might have to do it in a step-by-step manner.

Here’s a simple way to achieve it:

Extract XML Data into a Structured Format:
First, you query the XML data and extract it into a relational format as shown previously.

Convert the Result to JSON:
Next, use the FOR JSON clause to convert the extracted data to JSON.

Here’s how you can combine these steps:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Example

An example to demonstrate this complete operation could look like:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Executing the above query will return the data in JSON format:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

Querying XML data and converting it to JSON format in SQL Server involves extracting the data using T-SQL and XQuery, followed by utilizing the FOR JSON clause to convert the resulting data set. This approach leverages SQL Server’s powerful querying capabilities and provides a seamless way to work with both XML and JSON formats.

By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can effectively manage data interchange between systems that rely on different data formats.