## Syntax
```mermaid
%%{init: {
'theme': 'base',
'flowchart': { 'padding': '7', 'nodeSpacing': '20', 'rankSpacing': '20' },
'themeVariables': {
'fontSize': '11px',
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}}%%
flowchart LR
Start((START)) --> XMLDECODE[XMLDECODE]:::quoted
XMLDECODE --> End((END))
```
## Purpose
The `XMLDECODE` SQL function returns the XML decoded input.
See also [[XMLCOMMENT]], [[XMLELEMENT]], [[XMLENCODE]], [[XMLFORMAT]] and [[XMLTRANSFORM]].
Parameters:
- Input (`varchar2`): the input which will be decoded into XML.
Returns: An object which is the XML decoded input.
## Examples
The following example decodes the XML encoded text `John & CO`:
```sql
select xmldecode('John & CO')
-------------------
John & CO
```
The following example decodes the XML encoded text `65/20<5%`:
```sql
select xmldecode('65/20<5%')
-------------------
65/20<5%
```