1. A method for parsing at least a portion of an XML document in parallel, comprising steps of: assigning a plurality of file partitions of an XML file that contains said XML document to a plurality of computing nodes by, for each computing node of said plurality of computing nodes, assigning to said each computing node a respective target element of said XML document and a respective file partition of said plurality of file partitions; in parallel with other computing nodes of said plurality of computing nodes, each computing node of said plurality of the computing nodes: receiving input specifying the respective target element and respective file partition; scanning the respective file partition for the respective target element; and when the respective target element is found, said each computing node parsing the respective target element.