How to query for Xml values and attributes from table in SQL Server?

Question 1

Actually you're close to your goal, you just need to use nodes() method to split your rows and then get values:

select
    s.SqmId,
    m.c.value('@id', 'varchar(max)') as id,
    m.c.value('@type', 'varchar(max)') as type,
    m.c.value('@unit', 'varchar(max)') as unit,
    m.c.value('@sum', 'varchar(max)') as [sum],
    m.c.value('@count', 'varchar(max)') as [count],
    m.c.value('@minValue', 'varchar(max)') as minValue,
    m.c.value('@maxValue', 'varchar(max)') as maxValue,
    m.c.value('.', 'nvarchar(max)') as Value,
    m.c.value('(text())[1]', 'nvarchar(max)') as Value2
from sqm as s
    outer apply s.data.nodes('Sqm/Metrics/Metric') as m(c)

sql fiddle demo

Question 2

I've been trying to do something very similar but not using the nodes. However, my xml structure is a little different.

You have it like this:

<Metrics>
    <Metric id="TransactionCleanupThread.RefundOldTrans" type="timer" ...>

If it were like this instead:

<Metrics>
    <Metric>
        <id>TransactionCleanupThread.RefundOldTrans</id>
        <type>timer</type>
        .
        .
        .

Then you could simply use this SQL statement.

SELECT
    Sqm.SqmId,
    Data.value('(/Sqm/Metrics/Metric/id)[1]', 'varchar(max)') as id,
    Data.value('(/Sqm/Metrics/Metric/type)[1]', 'varchar(max)') AS type,
    Data.value('(/Sqm/Metrics/Metric/unit)[1]', 'varchar(max)') AS unit,
    Data.value('(/Sqm/Metrics/Metric/sum)[1]', 'varchar(max)') AS sum,
    Data.value('(/Sqm/Metrics/Metric/count)[1]', 'varchar(max)') AS count,
    Data.value('(/Sqm/Metrics/Metric/minValue)[1]', 'varchar(max)') AS minValue,
    Data.value('(/Sqm/Metrics/Metric/maxValue)[1]', 'varchar(max)') AS maxValue,
    Data.value('(/Sqm/Metrics/Metric/stdDeviation)[1]', 'varchar(max)') AS stdDeviation,
FROM Sqm

To me this is much less confusing than using the outer apply or cross apply.

I hope this helps someone else looking for a simpler solution!

Question 3

use value instead of query (must specify index of node to return in the XQuery as well as passing the sql data type to return as the second parameter):

select
    xt.Id
    , x.m.value( '@id[1]', 'varchar(max)' ) MetricId
from
    XmlTest xt
    cross apply xt.XmlData.nodes( '/Sqm/Metrics/Metric' ) x(m)

Question 4

I don't understand why some people are suggesting using cross apply or outer apply to convert the xml into a table of values. For me, that just brought back way too much data.

Here's my example of how you'd create an xml object, then turn it into a table.

(I've added spaces in my xml string, just to make it easier to read.)

DECLARE @str nvarchar(2000)

SET @str = ''
SET @str = @str + '<users>'
SET @str = @str + '  <user>'
SET @str = @str + '     <firstName>Mike</firstName>'
SET @str = @str + '     <lastName>Gledhill</lastName>'
SET @str = @str + '     <age>31</age>'
SET @str = @str + '  </user>'
SET @str = @str + '  <user>'
SET @str = @str + '     <firstName>Mark</firstName>'
SET @str = @str + '     <lastName>Stevens</lastName>'
SET @str = @str + '     <age>42</age>'
SET @str = @str + '  </user>'
SET @str = @str + '  <user>'
SET @str = @str + '     <firstName>Sarah</firstName>'
SET @str = @str + '     <lastName>Brown</lastName>'
SET @str = @str + '     <age>23</age>'
SET @str = @str + '  </user>'
SET @str = @str + '</users>'

DECLARE @xml xml
SELECT @xml = CAST(CAST(@str AS VARBINARY(MAX)) AS XML) 

--  Iterate through each of the "users\user" records in our XML
SELECT 
    x.Rec.query('./firstName').value('.', 'nvarchar(2000)') AS 'FirstName',
    x.Rec.query('./lastName').value('.', 'nvarchar(2000)') AS 'LastName',
    x.Rec.query('./age').value('.', 'int') AS 'Age'
FROM @xml.nodes('/users/user') as x(Rec)

And here's the output:

How to query for Xml values and attributes from table in SQL Server?

Related resources that I read

Update: .value rather than .query