When I need to obtain an XML query result from my database, FOR XML is usually the first solution I try. Introduced in SQL Server 2000, FOR XML provides three modes—Raw, Auto, and Explicit—for formatting the XML query result. (For details about these modes, see Dave Hulse's August 2000 .NET Developer Perspectives column, "The Three Modes of SQL Server XML," InstantDoc ID 9790.) Auto mode is generally my first choice because it provides a good balance between complexity and the flexibil...