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xmlxqueryfilenames

xquery filename extensions

I just started to learn XQuery and could not figure out why there are so many filename extensions. I encountered the following filename extensions:

.xq, .xql, .xqm, .xqy, and .xquery.

What are their differences?

Solution

  • Filename extensions for XQuery have never been formalized by the W3C XML Query Working Group. As a result, every XQuery processor and IDE comes with different recommendations.

    In BaseX, xq is the most widely used and preferred file suffix for main modules. The file suffix xqm is recommended for library modules. All other suffixes that you have listed are accepted as well, though (see XQuery Extensions: Suffixes for more details).