XML File compression?

[Pepe]

We have recently started using XML to store medical data.The diagnosis software exports a *.xml file. The issue is that 24 hours of data is a lot of information (some 22Mb) Does someone have some tips to compress the data before it is exported to XML?I mean: is there a way to export a XML file that is already compressed with no need to use WinZip option?Thanks in advance for your help.

[boen_robot]

The only way I can think of is to restructure the XML itself "manually". Instead of having

<doctor><name><first>John</first><last>Smith</last></name></doctor>

You could use

<doctor><name first="John" last="Smith" /></doctor>

And remove ALL line breakes and extra spaces. Example:

<doctor><name first="John" last="Smith"/></doctor>

But even this is not going to compress the data very much. Infact, that's the reason why XML was never ment to replace traditional databases such as MS Access, MySQL, Oracle and so on.

[Pepe]

Thanks!I am afraid we already did this - we export values only, with no decimals and only 2 values per second (the original export format is 16 values per second).The problem is that in Europe we use 24 hours recording...Each manufacturer has its own way of storing data, some in SQL, others in Oracle. The file is then exported in XML following a common export format to allow other physicians to see the tracings and discuss the diagnosis.i suppose WinZip is the best current option though I would rather have an easier method for my "non-computer litterate" users. Any idea welcome ...Thanks again 4 your help.

[dooberry]

HmmThe alternatives to this are a bit ropey. The thing is that information can be shared without being exported from one database to another - most database server systems will support linked tables from databases in another format e.g. SQL can link to Oracle and vice versa.Another means of copying the records could be through replication, but I've never heard of replication being used across different database formats.Another suggestion might be to load the xml files into a MySQL database then you don't have to interrogate the files. This would mean that you could share the information over the web from a database format and not have these monstrous xml files cluttering your systems.XML is a means of transferring data from one system to another in a language that they can both understand, no-one said that the XML data has to stay in XML format once it gets there.I don't know if that really helped or not, but hopefully it will have given you some ideas. :)Dooberry.