One other way to work with XML data is to use third-party tools that you have adapted for use in the supercomputer so that you have the advantage of working with previously proven technology and the benefit of running that technology in parallel on all the supercomputer nodes at once.

The technique is simple: just define the input file as a data stream and use the PIPE option on DATASET to process the data in its native form. Once the processing is complete, you can OUTPUT the result in whatever form it comes out of the third-party tool, something like this example code (non-functional):

Rec := RECORD
  STRING1  char;
END;

TimeZones := DATASET('timezones.xml',Rec,PIPE('ThirdPartyTool.exe'));

OUTPUT(TimeZones,,'ProcessedTimezones.xml');

The key to this technique is the STRING1 field definition. This makes the input and output just a 1-byte-at-a-time data stream that flows into the third-party tool and back out of your ECL code in its native format. You don't even need to know what that format is. You could also use this technique with the PIPE option on OUTPUT.