diff --git a/src/helma/scripting/rhino/extensions/XmlObject.java b/src/helma/scripting/rhino/extensions/XmlObject.java
index 1311cfb9..860bc2b1 100644
--- a/src/helma/scripting/rhino/extensions/XmlObject.java
+++ b/src/helma/scripting/rhino/extensions/XmlObject.java
@@ -47,10 +47,23 @@ public class XmlObject {
      *
      * @param node the HopObject to encode
      * @param file the file to write to
-     *
+     * @return true
      * @throws IOException if something went wrong along the way
      */
-    public boolean write(INode node, String file)
+    public boolean write(INode node, String file) throws IOException {
+        return write(node, file, false);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     *  Writes a HopObject to an XML file, optionally using shallow/db mode
+     *
+     * @param node the HopObject to encode
+     * @param file the file to write to
+     * @param dbmode whether to write a shallow copy
+     * @return true
+     * @throws IOException if something went wrong along the way
+     */
+    public boolean write(INode node, String file, boolean dbmode)
                   throws IOException {
         // we definitly need a node
         if (node == null) {
@@ -64,12 +77,9 @@ public class XmlObject {
         File tmpFile = new File(file + ".tmp." + XmlWriter.generateID());
         XmlWriter writer = new XmlWriter(tmpFile, "UTF-8");
 
-        writer.setDatabaseMode(false);
-
+        writer.setDatabaseMode(dbmode);
         writer.write(node);
-
         writer.close();
-
         File finalFile = new File(file);
 
         if (finalFile.exists()) {
@@ -82,15 +92,26 @@ public class XmlObject {
     }
 
     /**
-     *  Transforms a HopObject to XML and returns the result as string
+     * Transforms a HopObject to XML and returns the result as string
      *
      * @param node the HopObject to encode
-     *
      * @return the XML representing the HopObject
-     *
-     * @throws IOException if something went wrong
+     * @throws IOException if something went wrong along the way
      */
     public String writeToString(INode node) throws IOException {
+        return writeToString(node, false);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Transforms a HopObject to XML and returns the result as string,
+     * optionally using shallow/db mode
+     *
+     * @param node the HopObject to encode
+     * @return the XML representing the HopObject
+     * @param dbmode whether to write a shallow copy
+     * @throws IOException if something went wrong
+     */
+    public String writeToString(INode node, boolean dbmode) throws IOException {
         // we definitly need a node
         if (node == null) {
             throw new RuntimeException("First argument in Xml.write() is not an hopobject");
@@ -99,15 +120,12 @@ public class XmlObject {
         ByteArrayOutputStream out = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
         XmlWriter writer = new XmlWriter(out, "UTF-8");
 
-        //  in case we ever want to limit serialization depth...
+        // in case we ever want to limit serialization depth...
         // if (arguments.length > 1 && arguments[1] instanceof ESNumber)
         //     writer.setMaxLevels(arguments[1].toInt32());
-        writer.setDatabaseMode(false);
-
+        writer.setDatabaseMode(dbmode);
         writer.write(node);
-
         writer.flush();
-
         return out.toString("UTF-8");
     }
 
@@ -115,9 +133,7 @@ public class XmlObject {
      *  Reads an XML document from a file and creates a HopObject out of it
      *
      * @param file the file name
-     *
      * @return the HopObject
-     *
      * @throws RuntimeException ...
      */
     public Object read(String file) throws RuntimeException {
@@ -129,7 +145,6 @@ public class XmlObject {
      *
      * @param file the file name
      * @param node the HopObject to use for conversion
-     *
      * @return the HopObject
      */
     public Object read(String file, INode node) throws RuntimeException {
@@ -139,8 +154,7 @@ public class XmlObject {
 
         if (node == null) {
             // make sure we have a node, even if 2nd arg doesn't exist or is not a node
-            node = new Node((String) null, (String) null,
-                            core.getApplication().getWrappedNodeManager());
+            node = new Node(null, null, core.getApplication().getWrappedNodeManager());
         }
 
         try {
@@ -159,9 +173,7 @@ public class XmlObject {
      * Reads an XML document from an XML literal and creates a HopObject out of it
      *
      * @param str the XML string
-     *
      * @return the HopObject
-     *
      * @throws RuntimeException ...
      */
     public Object readFromString(String str) throws RuntimeException {
@@ -173,9 +185,7 @@ public class XmlObject {
      *
      * @param str the XML string
      * @param node the HopObject to use for conversion
-     *
      * @return ...
-     *
      * @throws RuntimeException ...
      */
     public Object readFromString(String str, INode node)
@@ -186,8 +196,7 @@ public class XmlObject {
 
         if (node == null) {
             // make sure we have a node, even if 2nd arg doesn't exist or is not a node
-            node = new Node((String) null, (String) null,
-                            core.getApplication().getWrappedNodeManager());
+            node = new Node(null, null, core.getApplication().getWrappedNodeManager());
         }
 
         try {
@@ -208,7 +217,6 @@ public class XmlObject {
      * Retrieves an XML document from a given URL and transforms it into a HopObject
      *
      * @param url the URL containing the XML to be parsed
-     *
      * @return a HopObject obtained from parsing the XML
      */
     public Object get(String url) {
@@ -221,9 +229,7 @@ public class XmlObject {
      *
      * @param url the URL containing the XML to be parsed
      * @param conversionRules a file name pointing to the conversion rules
-     *
      * @return a HopObject obtained from parsing the XML
-     *
      * @see <http://helma.org/development/rfc/xmlconversion/>
      */
     public Object get(String url, String conversionRules) {
@@ -240,10 +246,8 @@ public class XmlObject {
                 converter = new XmlConverter();
             }
 
-            INode node = new helma.objectmodel.db.Node((String) null,
-                                                       (String) null,
-                                                       core.getApplication()
-                                                           .getWrappedNodeManager());
+            INode node = new helma.objectmodel.db.Node(null, null,
+                    core.getApplication().getWrappedNodeManager());
             INode result = converter.convert(url, node);
 
             return core.getNodeWrapper(result);
@@ -256,7 +260,6 @@ public class XmlObject {
      * Transforms a XML literal into a HopObject
      *
      * @param str an XML literal
-     *
      * @return a HopObject obtained from parsing the XML
      */
     public Object getFromString(String str) {
@@ -270,9 +273,7 @@ public class XmlObject {
      *
      * @param str an XML literal
      * @param conversionRules a file name pointing to the conversion rules
-     *
      * @return a HopObject obtained from parsing the XML
-     *
      * @see <http://helma.org/development/rfc/xmlconversion/>
      */
     public Object getFromString(String str, String conversionRules) {
@@ -289,8 +290,7 @@ public class XmlObject {
                 converter = new XmlConverter();
             }
 
-            INode node = new Node((String) null, (String) null,
-                              core.getApplication().getWrappedNodeManager());
+            INode node = new Node(null, null, core.getApplication().getWrappedNodeManager());
             INode result = converter.convertFromString(str, node);
 
             return core.getNodeWrapper(result);