XML-Databases or Standard-SQL-Database with Add-ons? Asking for Recommendations!

Hi netters,

I am used in MYSQL + PHP. Sometimes POSTGRESQL + PYTHON/ZOPE was used.

Now I have to build a bibliography system that stores a lot of
XML-Files and I am not quite sure wether it is a good idea to stick to
the good old sql-databases and go ahead with the same old techniques I
am using all the time.

Well, let's see what's available:

POSTGRESQL has build in XML-Support since version 8. At least a few
commands like xpath_table, xpath_bool, xpath_string, xpath_number,
xpath_nodeset, xslt_process are supported. Besides of these one has all
the good old SQL commands for processing.

MYSQL has no XML support at all and one needs external tools for a lot
of data conversion...

Both are perfectly supported by pre-processors like PHP and other
languages from python to java. No Problem with ODBC-Drivers as well.

On the other hand there are native XML-DATABASES existing. Like
"XINDICE" and "eXist". They are native JAVA as well. And I never wanted
to go with java until today ;-)

If one uses these it is also necessary to install a servlet server like
"TOMCAT", "COCOON" and "JETTY".

Pretty much work at the beginning of a new project if you install all
that for the first time ;-)

And now the question: IS IT WORTH IT?

How much easier is it to work with a xml-database?
Will I miss SQL?
Can I process xml-data freely or is it just storing?
How do you solve such problems?

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. I am feeling I am wasting
time in preliminaries.Perhaps I should have started with
mysql/postgresql and just ignore this xml-stuff ;-) What do you think?

Joachim Kleinhans
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http://www.arteam.org