title: How to store my menu structure
body: <p>I am creating a web site and I want the menus to be dynamically generated.  Factors that can effect the menus are the page's position in the site hierarchy, the access level of the user looking at the page, and the type of page (news post, event details, product page, etc).</p>
  
  <p>Originally I thought of creating a mysql database containing menu items with foreign keys and additional details to each item, (target url of menu item, parent menu item, title of item, etc).  But I started running into issues of item ordering, multi layered menus and multiple menus.</p>
  
  <p>Then I thought why use a flat relational database when I can have a xml file that has the structure and order explicitly stated.  It rarely will change, the pages will have to query the MySQL database to get their contents, it can include some menu ids.</p>
  
  <p>Can you see any pitfalls of this method?  I don't have alot of experience with xml other than using it as a template that I walk to generate other structures.  How easy is it to manipulate in php and javascript?</p>