Describe the application of OPENXML function in SQL Server 2000.
SQL Server 2000 introduced a new function named OPENXML, as part of XML features made available in this release. The OPENXML function allows accessing XML data as if it were a relational rowset. It provides a tabular (rowset) view of in-memory representation of an XML document. Technically, OPENXML is a rowset provider similar to a table or a view; hence it can be used wherever a table or a view is used. For instance, you can use OPENXML with SELECT or SELECT INTO statements, to work on an XML document that is retained in memory