A method is provided by a computer system processing XMI-based XML documents. The method compares two such XMI-based XML documents for identical content. The method begins with the step of parsing each of the documents to create for each a semantic graph of the document's objects. Next, a list of names of properties for each of the objects having significant order is read. For each of the objects, and then for each object's property not listed as having significant order, values of said properties are sorted. Finally, the objects of the semantic graphs are compared.