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Tech Primer
 XML Extensible Markup Language)
What is XML?
Extensible Markup Language (1.0) was developed and released by W3C (the World
Wide Web Consortium) on February 10, 1998. It is defined as a cross platform
software and hardware for transmitting information. It is used in documents
for structured information in the form of words, vector graphics, e-commerce
transactions, mathematical information, object meta-data, server APIs etc. XML
is ranked by many among the top three Internet technologies. This markup language
is used on the Web to create richly structured documents.
Why is it popular?
The introduction of this language has made it easier for Web designers to send
information through ‘forms’ over the Net. The information can be displayed
and read in several different applications according to the needs of a customer.
HTML or Hyper Text Markup Language is a bound set of semantics with no arbitrary
structure. XML does not have tag sets or semantics. The user can define tags
and structure relationships between them. The semantics of XML are defined by
style sheets or by applications that process them. Extensible Markup Language
is a labelled structure for processing styled presentations for human readers
for interpretation of data between an application and an organisation. XML is
a flexible and readable language that can be coded using simple editing tools.
What are the different variants of XML?
There are various application-specific variants of XML such as EBXML, BPEL,
SAML, BPML and WSCI. Electronic business using markup is not only conducted
between businesses, it is also used in consumer e-commerce. EBXML was launched
in 1999 by UNCEFACT (United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic
Business) with OASIS (Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information
Standard). It has a complex structure and is used by firms to conduct business
over the Internet. SAML stands for Security Association Markup Language. Business
Process Execution Language, abbreviated as BPEL, was developed by the OASIS
Technical Committee. It was designed to enable task-sharing in a computing environment.
Is XML a cure all for business ills?
Although XML is advancing, it is still in its infancy, with various drawbacks.
XML has no boundaries of codes, and is verbose, creating vocabulary problems.
It has several problems which may slow down a project or even cause it to collapse.
Some of the drawbacks of XML are non-verification code—an XML file is not
considered valid if it lacks a valid DTD or schema. These files often include
human readable ambiguous code which may be understood by one developer and hold
no meaning for another. Moreover, XML standards are not stable.
Where is XML headed?
Like HTML, XML is important for the future of the Web. It will be used as the
most common tool for data manipulation and data transmission. This markup language
could be termed the ‘main language’ to exchange financial information
between businesses in cyberspace. It is also used as a markup Internet application
in various handheld devices such as mobile phones as Wireless Markup Language
(WML), which is also written in XML. XML is a valuable language for Internet
and intranet applications due to its flexibility in accessing databases and
delivering information to Web clients.
Which are the companies and organisations promoting XML?
XML is a simplified version of SGML—Standard Generalised
Markup Language. Both XML and SGML are meta languages. Microsoft introduced
an XML parser defined by Channel Definition Format. Netscape Navigator 6, and
Internet Explorer 5 and 6 work well with XML. The other vendors involved in
XML-related activities are IBM and Oracle.
For more information visit xml.com/resourceguide
Garima Grover
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