This is the presentation and code snips from Jason Follas' talk on "Exploiting the XML Capabilites of SQL Server 2005".

Abstract:
XML-based data is very prevalent in today's data world to the point that every database developer should know how to work with XML. Middle-tier translation of XML into relational data may be inflexible, and often leads to a loss of fidelity over time. One solution is to move the XML handling into the database itself in order to improve overall integration. SQL Server 2005 provides powerful XML processing features that allow easy access to data stored within XML without sacrificing any of the original fidelity.

If you like what you see, check out Jason's website (www.jasonfollas.com) and wiki (http://jasonfollas.com/wiki/MainPage.ashx) for more information.