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> I have a simple question, "Why do we need updates as part of > the XQuery language at all?" > I asked the same question when I first got interested in XML databases; I had assumed that document replacement would meet most of the requirement. I still think that's true for many applications. But there are some where that doesn't work at all well, for example a system that maintains a log of events, with a frequent need to append data relating to new events. In fact there are many XML database applications where the "document" is a very natural structuring unit, and there are some where it's not a natural unit at all: an example I use of the latter is the database for a national railway timetable, where deciding what goes together in one document is a key (and not easy) design decision. Knowing the unit of update is one of the inputs to this decision. Mike Kay
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