1. A method for querying a structured document stored in its native format in a database, wherein the structured document comprises a plurality of nodes that form a hierarchical node tree, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing at least one child pointer in at least one node of the plurality of nodes, wherein the at least one child pointer points to a corresponding child node of the plurality of nodes; b) storing a hint in the at least one child pointer; and c) utilizing the hint to determine whether to navigate to the corresponding child node during query evaluation.