Hi Viv,

Kevin could use IDs and IDREFs to simulate primary foreign key relationships, but this would require the insertion of the ID values into the XML. Not really an option if the XML doesn't already contain the IDs and the IDREFs.

My point about normalization is that XML is hierarchial and it is awkward to represent a relational structure within a hierarchial structure.

>Hi John,
>
>>Normalization is not really a term that applies to XML data.
>
>Isn't Normalization what IDREFS's are all about ? I see that Keith wasn't after true normalization and, I must admit, I hadn't a clue about how to go about the problem using IDREFS. Out of curiosity do you have any suggestion ?
>
>Regards,
>Viv