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It is important to know that XML was designed to store, carry
and exchange data. It was not designed to display data.
XML can Separate Data from HTML
With XML, your data is stored outside your HTML.
When HTML is used to display data, the data are stored inside
your HTML. With XML, data can be stored in separate XML files.
This way you can concentrate on using HTML for data layout and
display, and be sure that changes in the underlying data will
not require any changes to your HTML.
XML data can also be stored inside HTML pages as "Data Islands".
You can still concentrate on using HTML only for formatting and
displaying the data.
XML is used to Exchange Data
With XML, data can be exchanged between incompatible systems.
In the real world, computer systems and databases contain data
in incompatible formats. One of the most time consuming
challenges for developers has been to exchange data between such
systems over the Internet.
Converting the data to XML can greatly reduce this complexity
and create data that can be read by many different types of
applications.
XML and B2B
With XML, financial information can be exchanged over the
Internet.
Expect to see a lot about XML and B2B (Business To Business) in
the near future.
XML is going to be the main language for exchanging financial
information between businesses over the Internet. A lot of
interesting B2B applications are under development.
XML can be used to Share Data
With XML, plain text files can be used to share data.
Since XML data is stored in plain text format, XML provides a
software- and hardware-independent way of sharing data.
This makes it much easier to create data that different
applications can work with. It also makes it easier to expand or
upgrade a system to new operating systems, servers,
applications, and new browsers.
XML can be used to Store
Data
With XML, plain text files can be used to store data.
XML can also be used to store data in files or in databases.
Applications can be written to store and retrieve information
from the store, and generic applications can be used to display
the data.
XML can make your Data
more Useful
With XML, your data is available to more users.
Since XML is independent of hardware, software and application,
you can make your data available to more than only standard HTML
browsers.
Other clients and applications can access your XML files as data
sources, like they are accessing databases. Your data can be
made available to all kinds of "reading machines" (agents), and
it is easier to make your data available for blind people, or
people with other disabilities.
XML can be used to Create
new Languages
XML is the mother of WAP and WML.
The Wireless Markup Language (WML), used to markup Internet
applications for handheld devices like mobile phones, is written
in XML.
If Developers have Sense
If they DO have sense, all future applications will store their
data in XML.
The future might give us word processors, spreadsheet
applications and databases that can read each others data in a
pure text format, without any conversion utilities in between.
We can only pray that Microsoft and all the other software
vendors will agree.
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