XML Promises and challenges

XML Born

XML (Extensible Markup Language) 1.0 standard was published February 10, 1998.

XML was born from the shortcomings of SGML [Structured Generalized Markup Language] which

was hugely complex, massively flexible and just plain hard to work with for many developers.

XML has taken off because it has all the best of SGML without many of the weakness.



XML Goal

XML took us beyond mere presentation of information and into the realm of representation

of information. This content is not just a mass of data to be rendered solely for viewing

on a web browser. Now the content could be structured and the meaning attached to this

structure could be transmitted as well.



HTML's difficulties:

1- HTML does not reveal anything about the information to which HTML tags are applied.

HTML tag names don't describe what content is, they only imply how content appears.

For example the html tag "Microsoft" appears on a web browser but HTML can not

tell is it a computer corporation? A Software? A Brand name?

2- Web applications relied too much on scripts at the server to process the data.

This makes the web slow and contributes to internet traffic.

3- You can't add new tags to HTML Language that are meaningful and useful.

4- HTML is a presentation technology only.



XML Success

The Java technology, enables browsers to function as generalized application platforms. The

result is True platform independence. XML provides information rich in metadata specified

in a standard format, XML and Java technology make it possible for more of an application's

work to be processed at a client side. This contrasts with the tendency of HTML pages to rely

on a script back at the server. With XML and Java technology, more client-based application

processing could reduce network and internet traffic, making the web faster.



XML challenges

Converting any information from a display format such as HTML, RTF, MIF, or PostScript to a

structured format like XML will require that you understand what your information really

contains. This requires a document analysis and the determination of information semantics on

which different parts of your enterprise rely. Many enterprises in different business sectors

have established industry standard information models that can be expressed in XML and, more

importantly, can be shared.


Once the relevant information models and their expressions in XML are constructed, the effort

to convert existing information into the XML format can proceed. It may or may not be painful,

depending on the condition of the existing documents. These efforts can be done in house, or they

can be completed with the help of qualified consultants.



XML Resources:

Easy XML is a simple XML editor that
aids in the rapid building of XML applications.

Microsoft XML for SQL Web allows you to query
database tables and receive the results as an XML document.


Microsoft XML Notepad is a simple HTML
prototyping application for building and editing small sets of XML-based data.


Microsoft XML Validation Tool checks that
an XML file is well formed.


XML Spy is a powerful XML editor.


XMetaL is an advanced, simple-to-deploy
XML authoring tool that delivers an unprecedented ease of use.


More XML Tools >>



XML Free Tutorial:

A lot of free tutorial can be found on