Tamino XML Server is Software AG's product offering for most efficient storage, maintenance, publishing and exchange of XML documents.

Why use Tamino?

Storing XML data natively has an enormous advantage over relational database management systems (RDBMSs), because no extra data conversion layer is required as, for example, needed for XML-enabled RDBMSs and the document structure is kept intact. Relational database management systems (RDBMS) may appear to be a possible choice to facilitate the exchange of XML objects. But the table-based data model of the RDBMS does not suit the hierarchical and interconnected nature of XML objects. An RDBMS would need to break an XML document down into a multitude of interrelated tables. A query against this database would result in many relational retrieval and join operations, requiring high processing power to overcome a considerable degradation of performance.

In addition, RDBMSs and more advanced DBMSs, such as multi-dimensional relational databases or object-oriented databases, cannot handle data with dynamic structure, which is the key to XML's extensibility. A native XML data store must be able to store and retrieve any well-formed XML document, even if schema information (DTD or XML Schema) of the document is not available. An RDBMS, however, needs schema definitions for each table, so a document with an unknown tag would require a change request for a new schema definition, to be built and approved before it can be put into production. Likewise, in an object-oriented database a new class definition would be necessary, which is too time-consuming for Internet applications.

Native XML storage is the essential method to avoid these performance limitations that are a crucial factor in the evolving mission-critical high-speed world of e-business. Where data is subject to change or exhibits a complex structure, storage in a native XML Server will give better performance and greater flexibility. Some of the applications that demonstrate these characteristics are:

1. Content Management:
   Tamino has been embedded into content management solutions to offer native XML storage. This makes it easy to publish content in different formats to a wide variety of devices.
2. E-Commerce Audit:
   As more and more transactions become wholly electronic, there is a need to store an accurate representation of these transactions, the vast majority of which will be XML documents.
3. Staging Server:
   A staging server provides an XML representation of information held in a back-office system. It prevents the back-office system from potential overload and from untrusted access, while making the data accessible via the Web to customers, suppliers, and trading partners.
4. UDDI Directory:
   The Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) directory format has the potential to be used as an internal directory of services within a larger organization, and Tamino can act as both a directory and a repository of Web Services.
5. Enterprise Portals:
   Easy access to content is a vital part of a portal solution, and Tamino makes it easier to deliver content in a form that is best suited to the user's requirements.