The quoted reason is “Nobody likes to do O&#x2F;R mapping; everyone just wants a solution.”  From that point of view, I think it&#x27;s at least arguable that he chose XML databases as a stand-in for NoSQL, which wasn&#x27;t really a thing yet.  The fact that many NoSQL databases use JSON, which is the successor to XML for data interchange, lends a bit more support as well IMO.<p>In other words, I think saying XML databases are the future in 2004 is like saying JSON document stores are the future now.  I don&#x27;t view either as all that correct, but there&#x27;s definitely been a surge in interest.