35. A method for managing an unstructured document in a relational database system, comprising: storing the unstructured document in a storage structure in the relational database system, the storage structure corresponding to a universal schema, wherein the storage structure comprises a path string for a node within the unstructured document, wherein the path string comprises a full path for the node from a root node of the XML document; determining whether to create an index upon the storage structure, wherein one or more indexes are maintained if desired; and accessing the unstructured documents by accessing the storage structure in a volatile or non-volatile computer usable storage medium.
35. A method for managing an unstructured document in a relational database system, comprising: storing the unstructured document in a storage structure in the relational database system, the storage structure corresponding to a universal schema, wherein the storage structure comprises a path string for a node within the unstructured document, wherein the path string comprises a full path for the node from a root node of the XML document; determining whether to create an index upon the storage structure, wherein one or more indexes are maintained if desired; and accessing the unstructured documents by accessing the storage structure in a volatile or non-volatile computer usable storage medium. 40. The method of claim 35 in which the one or more indexes comprise an index on path identifiers or a unique index on reverse paths.