[neRok]

The GEDCOM file format is basically nested documents, and uses graph like pointers for linking things, so it is not that bad.

The actual data model is terrible though, as it was created by the church based on their 'traditional' style families.

However, most programs do not use GEDCOM to store their data (they might use an SQL database for example), but merely as a way to transfer data between programs.

Also note that there is always someone working to make a replacement for GEDCOM. Some of the latest efforts are GEDCOM-X (made by the church again), and the work by [FHISO](http://fhiso.org/). A lot of such projects, eg BetterGEDCOM, get bogged down in 'internal' politics, and rarely get anywhere.