29. A computer-implemented method for mapping hierarchical data from a first relational table comprising: providing a schema for a hierarchical data structure wherein the schema defines a hierarchical relationship of data elements; identifying from the schema a first node within the hierarchical data structure corresponding to a first column in the relational table; and copying a first data value from the relational table to the hierarchical data structure wherein the first data value is selected from the relational table in a sort order specified by the schema.
33. The method as recited in claim 29 wherein the copying act is performed in response to an XPath query.