how to parse xml with special character in sql server

Question

I am getting following error when i add < in my xml,

Msg 9455, Level 16, State 1, Line 6 XML parsing: line 4, character 14, illegal qual

Answer 1

You need to ensure the XML is valid, so you need to make sure any special characters are encoded.

e.g.

DECLARE @MyXML XML
SET @MyXML = '

W < hite
Blue
Black
Green
Red


Apple
Pineapple
Grapes
Melon

'