Using XPath Queries in SQLXML 4.0
Applies to: 
SQL Server
Azure SQL Database
Microsoft SQL Server support for annotated XSD schemas allows you to create XML views of the relational data stored in the database. You can use a subset of the XPath language to query the XML views created by an annotated XSD schema.
Note
To understand XPath queries in SQLXML 4.0, you must be familiar with XML views and related concepts such as templates and mapping schema. For more information, see Introduction to Annotated XSD Schemas (SQLXML 4.0). For more information about XPath, see the XPath standard defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath.
In This Section
Introduction to Using XPath Queries (SQLXML 4.0)
Provides introductory information about XPath queries in SQLXML 4.0, including supported and unsupported functionality from the W3C XPath specification.
Specifying a Location Path (SQLXML 4.0)
Describes how to specify location paths in XPath queries.
Sample XPath Queries (SQLXML 4.0)
Provides sample XPath queries for SQLXML 4.0.
XPath Data Types (SQLXML 4.0)
Describes XPath data types, which are significantly different from those of both SQL Server and XSD.