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XQuery
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<p>XQuery (XML Query) is a <a href="/facts/Query_language/Sa6K4xXM">query language</a> and <a href="/facts/Functional_programming/cdxqPEIM">functional programming</a> language designed to query and transform collections of structured and <a href="/facts/Unstructured_data/HrYRs7wq">unstructured data</a>, primarily in the form of <a href="/facts/XML/clNgUfWk">XML</a>. It also supports text data and, through implementation-specific extensions, other formats like <a href="/facts/Binary_data/PSFa5S2Q">binary</a> and <a href="/facts/Relational_model/VFf4dDIU">relational data</a>. </p><p>The language was developed by the XML Query <a href="/facts/Working_group/dFlAPASD">working group</a> of the <a href="/facts/World_Wide_Web_Consortium/lGWmhF6M">W3C</a>, with version 1.0 becoming a <a href="/facts/W3C_Recommendation/lGWmhF6M">W3C Recommendation</a> in January 2007. XQuery development is closely coordinated with the development of <a href="/facts/XSLT/0gw4WVyJ">XSLT</a> by the XSL Working Group. Both groups jointly maintain <a href="/facts/XPath/0eCtJoj7">XPath</a>, a shared component of XQuery and XSLT. XQuery extends XPath with features like FLWOR (For, Let, Where, Order by, Return) expressions, making it semantically similar to <a href="/facts/SQL/UjQLJcYm">SQL</a> but optimized for <a href="/facts/Hierarchical_data/vLzcNqVo">hierarchical</a> rather than <a href="/facts/Relational_model/VFf4dDIU">relational data</a>. </p><p>XQuery 3.1, published in March 2017, added support for <a href="/facts/JSON/bs1rUAhd">JSON</a> and introduced <a href="/facts/Map_(higher-order_function)/GdzN4UJl">maps</a>, <a href="/facts/Array_data_structure/BKGvF8AM">arrays</a>, and additional <a href="/facts/Higher-order_function/VjnjGbpt">higher-order functions</a>, significantly expanding the language's capabilities for modern <a href="/facts/Data_processing/74EKCDAq">data processing</a>. </p><p>XQuery is implemented by many <a href="/facts/Database_management_system/VYcpkevb">database systems</a>, <a href="/facts/XML_database/PerYsNou">XML databases</a>, and XML processors, including <a href="/facts/BaseX/HMBQQR6w">BaseX</a>, <a href="/facts/EXist/F3utWSg4">eXist</a>, <a href="/facts/MarkLogic/m8zDvtIB">MarkLogic</a>, <a href="/facts/Saxon_XSLT/1zTlL7A9">Saxon</a>, and <a href="/facts/Berkeley_DB_XML/lWwNrclz">Berkeley DB XML</a>, making it a cornerstone technology for processing XML data in <a href="/facts/Enterprise_software/RGa1b0bC">enterprise software</a> applications. </p>