Note: This meeting was originally indicated to be "NWNUG Presents: XML Usage Scenarios".  However, busy work/travel schedules prevented that presentation from coming together, so Jason will be giving his current talk to the group instead (which is sort of on the same topic...)

XML-based data is very prevalent in today's data world to the point that every database developer should know how to work with XML. Middle-tier translation of XML into relational data may be inflexible, and often leads to a loss of fidelity over time. One solution is to move the XML handling into the database itself in order to improve overall integration. SQL Server 2005 provides powerful XML processing features that allow easy access to data stored within XML without sacrificing any of the original fidelity.

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Jason Follas, President of the Northwest Ohio .NET User Group, has over 13 years of professional experience developing for the Microsoft platform using Visual Basic and C#. He is a Technical Architect for Perficient, Inc. proudly serving the Toledo and Detroit markets, and is a Microsoft MVP (SQL Server) and a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCAD, MCSD.NET). Over the course of his career, Jason has worked on a wide assortment of projects for various industries, including an Aircraft Weight and Balance system, several e-Commerce websites, Risk Management systems, and blend optimization software. Hobbies and interests include Coin-Op Video Game restoration, prime numbers and factoring, astronomy, and annihilating songs by attempting to play them on his guitar.