Thomas,

>> But my point is: will someone provide me with the tools I need
>> *without* having me leave the relational model? ;-)

TS> Storing structured and semi-structured data found in XML
TS> documents using the relational model?

No! Storing documents as a whole and query their data:

ND> How
ND> do you sign a document if it's scattered in many relational parts into
ND> the database? So far the only acceptable solution with a pure
ND> relational database is to store the document (say XML ;-)) in a blob
ND> field, and "normalize" it for querying and analysis. But the official
ND> data stays in the blob field. Tools to support document-centered
ND> storage without data duplication are what I would need to be able to
ND> keep doing everything the relational way.

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