Martijn,

MT> XML is a data-exchange and representation format.

Yep.

MT> What else does XML offer?

I don't mind. I just took the opportunity to highlight a possible
reason why (IMHO) the industry is looking at XML as a storage means.

If you are able to do everything you need with a pure relational
database then good for you. I outlined why I cannot (conveniently) do
all I need and I have talked with many people that have the same needs
and look at XML. Give me a way to store signed documents and query
their contents and I won't mind about the format - XML is just as good
as anything else (although I find it excessively verbose but that's a
different matter).

MT> If people use it for complete documents and store them as such,
MT> you're using it the wrong way. Why should IBM or anyone else
MT> accept that and make it query-able etc?

Because there's market there. And huge too. I feel that the relational
model could easily provide tools to do the above, thus eliminating the
need to look at XML as storage. But such tools are currently not
available.

Ciao
--
Nando Dessena
http://www.flamerobin.org