I am currently designing an application which requires supporting query on all fields on the XML. The XML has about 70 fields most of them are numeric (integer, floating point). The XML is not too hierarchical. Inputs on what would be good for such a system deign would be great. I am seeking inputs on

- Is XML DB good for such an application. I have both oracle 9i/10G. Which one is better?

- If fields are numeric and require supporting numeric search on large number of XML data, will there be any performance issues. The application will have XML data in the order of couple of millions.

- Woud XPATh searches be faster. The query is expected to take less than 2-3 seconds for few millions of XML data.

- What type of index would be appropriate for such an application? I understand oracle supports hierarchical and relational indexes.

- I understand the structured storage using XML DB would be better than CLOB storage for better query performance of the application. Am I correct?

Thanks in advance,