How to Include Elements that Contain NULL Values When Using FOR XML EXPLICIT in SQL Server

When using FOR XML EXPLICIT in SQL Server, we can use the ELEMENT directive to include a column as an element instead of an attribute. However, this directive doesn’t allow for NULL values. What I mean is that if a column contains a NULL value, no element is produced for that column in the resulting XML document. This may or may not be what we want, depending on the requirements.

If we want such columns to be included in the XML even when they contain NULL values, we can use the ELEMENTXSINIL directive instead of ELEMENT.

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SQL Server FOR XML EXPLICIT Examples

In SQL Server, the FOR XML clause allows us to return the results of a query as an XML document. Simply by placing the FOR XML clause at the end of the query will output the results in XML.

When we do this, we have the option of specifying RAW, AUTO, EXPLICIT, or PATH mode. These modes allow us to shape the resulting XML in different ways, and so the mode we choose will determine how the XML is generated.

Below are examples of using EXPLICIT mode when generating XML from a SQL query.

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SQL Server FOR XML RAW Examples

In SQL Server, the FOR XML clause allows us to return the results of a query as an XML document. Simply by placing the FOR XML clause at the end of the query will output the results in XML.

When we do this, we have the option of specifying RAW, AUTO, EXPLICIT, or PATH mode. These modes allow us to shape the resulting XML in different ways, and so the mode we choose will determine how the XML is generated.

Below are examples of using RAW mode when generating XML from a SQL query.

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SQL Server FOR XML AUTO Examples

In SQL Server, the FOR XML clause allows us to return the results of a query as an XML document. Simply by placing the FOR XML clause at the end of the query will output the results in XML.

When we do this, we have the option of specifying RAW, AUTO, EXPLICIT, or PATH mode. These modes allow us to shape the resulting XML in different ways, and so the mode we choose will determine how the XML is generated.

Below are examples of using AUTO mode when generating XML from a SQL query.

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SQL Server FOR XML PATH Examples

In SQL Server, the FOR XML clause allows us to return the results of a query as an XML document. Simply by placing the FOR XML clause at the end of the query will output the results in XML.

When we do this, we have the option of specifying RAW, AUTO, EXPLICIT, or PATH mode. These modes allow us to shape the resulting XML in different ways, and so the mode we choose will determine how the XML is generated.

Below are examples of using PATH mode when generating XML from a SQL query.

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