Writing brief report on XML databases...

[Irving Kimura]

At work I've been assigned the task of writing a brief (1-2 pages)
report on the state-of-the-art of XML databases. The goal of this
report is to inform a working group on possible choices for a
systems specifications proposal (i.e. it's a case of "the blind
leading the blind" :) ). I sure could use some words o' wisdom
from you folks.

I understand that there are two broad approaches to making databases
for XML data. One is to build the system on top of a traditional
RDBMS and translate data back and forth between XML and RDBMS
representations of the data; the other one is to store, manipulate,
and query the data directly as XML ("native XML" systems). What
are the pros and cons of each approach? We are particularly
concerned about issues of performance, since it is the committee's
*uninformed* impression that XML database systems are not mature
enough to be competitive performance-wise.

Also I am looking for recommendations on open-source XML database
management systems. Are there any clear front runners?

Thanks,

Irv