Exam topic: DTD/XML/DOM vs DBMS

i was recently browsing my resources in preparation for an exam when i came across the following question-

With reference to a situation where a programmer uses a DOM program to process an XML document, discuss why a weak data description such as DTD or XML schema may be more appropriate in the global context than a da开发者_JS百科ta description in a database management system.

I feel that the question is structured quite poorly, or perhaps i dont get the question. Which is probably why im not sure as to what a logical reply to this might be. Any help, attempt or assistance at this convoluted qn is greatly appreciated...

Yes, a very poor question. (a) I can't see what DOM has to do with it; I would have thought the arguments were the same regardless how you were processing the XML; (b) I can only interpret the term "weak data description" as meaning "a data description that imposes few constraints", but with XML Schema in particular you get to choose how many constraints you want to impose, just as you do with an RDBMS; it's true that XML allows you to impose fewer constraints than an RDBMS, but the minimum is not to have a DTD or schema at all. (c) I've no idea what "the global context" is supposed to mean.

If I were forced to answer this question I would first critique the question, and then write an essay about how and where data should be validated. If the person marking it were the same as the person setting the question, then he would probably not be imaginative enough to give me any marks.