Tech4all group blog

Re: [tech4all] 12 Reasons Why XML is hot!

If you have time, investigate XML-RPC. It is some great use of XML for
a client server function protocol. a more sophisticated system SOAP
exists, but is more complex. XML-RPC is simple, and usable.

Danny

On 09/08/05, AM.Vijayaraaghavan <vijayaraaghavanam@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> 12 reasons why XML is hot!
>
> The eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is the universal format for structured
> documents and data on the Web. This article takes a look at twelve factors
> behind the growing popularity of XML.
>
> Throughout the past fifty odd editions of Developer IQ, various authors
> writing for us have been stressing that XML is one of the hottest
> technologies to have evolved in the recent past. While this message has been
> forced up on our readers a number of times, perhaps we have missed out an
> article on why XML is really hot. This has even prompted a mail or two
> especially from our inquisitive younger readers asking us why XML is hot. We
> will try answering that question in this article. We will look at what is
> hot in 'XML' in the next article.
> Many developers, especially the ones starting off, often think of XML as a
> sort of extension to HTML, or as an upgrade to HTML. This is a very wrong
> concept. HTML, which stands for Hyper Text Markup Language, is a
> meta-language for you to display content on the web. It is the most accepted
> way to display content today, and browsers readily understand HTML, and
> render them to provide you a more descriptive view.
>
> XML stands for Extensible Markup Language, and is actually a meta-language
> to describe the content in terms of data. It is not really bothered about
> displaying content and is only interested in what the data does and how the
> data can be manipulated. Thus the goals of HTML and XML are different, and
> perhaps they compliment each other.
>
> XML is extensible, and the format can be used to describe a huge variety of
> data. There are several subsets of XML that have originated in the past few
> years, such as MathML, which is used to describe complex mathematical
> notation. In short, you can describe XML as a text markup language for
> interchange of structured data allowing tremendous flexibility and
> customization. Here are some reasons why XML is billed as the hottest
> technology to evolve in recent times.
>
> 1. It is structured text
> The biggest advantage of 'text' is that it can be read universally. There
> are few platforms and applications that cannot read plain text. XML is
> essentially a text document. The advantage over other text formats is that
> XML is a structured text format. XML can provide meaning to blocks, lines
> and sentences of text in a document. For example you can use XML to clearly
> demarcate between details in an address such as name, middle name, surname,
> street name, country and so on. Yes, you can also use a simple database to
> do it. But remember, databases store information in binary format, while XML
> does the job using text format.
>
> 2. It is a technology of the Internet age
> XML is actually the web-enabled format of SGML. SGML, which stands for
> Standard Generalized Markup Language, is a format that is used for tagging
> and organizing elements of a document. SGML was developed way back in 1986,
> and is considered as a format that is rather complex. Its specification
> documentation alone runs to more than 330 pages. XML has simplified SGML,
> retaining the power of the original specifications, and making it as simple
> as HTML. It supports and interoperates with a number of open formats such as
> HTTP, SMTP, FTP, URL, SSL and others.
>
> 3. XML makes e-business cheap
> XML has also provided a plethora of standards and specifications to choose
> from, like RosettaNet, ebXML, UDDI and cXML, which enable e-Business. One of
> the challenges in conducting e-business is communicating with other
> organizations, whether they are partners, suppliers, competitors, or even
> other groups within the same company. The use of accepted XML standards
> simplifies business-to-business communication because the only thing that
> any two organizations have to agree on is the implementation of those
> standards.
>
> 4. It is cheap and also free
> XML is also a product of the open systems age. This has meant few controls
> on the platform from companies. There are several software applications
> available that are open source, which support XML. You have a number of
> editors, parsers, and language tools for XML that are free.
>
> 5. XML separates process from content
> We already discussed that XML separates presentation from the content. XML
> also separates the process from the content, since it does not specify any
> manner in which the process should take place explicitly. Hence the data
> layer, programming layer and presentation layer, in a program that is XML
> driven, are separate. Suppose you have created an XML document and written a
> program to manipulate it. Even if you later make some changes externally to
> the document, your program will still be good enough. XML documents are both
> future proof and are loosely coupled.
>
> 6. XML is open and supported by one and all
> Whenever we ask industry pundits what will come after XML, there are few
> answers. That is because the industry seems to be very happy with whatever
> XML is offering today. Almost all vendors support XML and are clear that XML
> is the format to be used for data interchange. There are few standards that
> have received such unprecedented support. Apart from vendors, almost all
> standards organization in the industry support XML.
>
> 7. Implementing standards using XML is simple and cheap
> XML is a data interchange format. There have been several standards for data
> interchange before. But they were either proprietary or were very expensive.
> Consider EDI, and the large number of solutions from companies such as IBM.
> Using XML, arriving on a standard is as simple as arriving on a common
> schema or a DTD (Document Type Definition). A DTD states what tags and
> attributes are used to describe content in an SGML, XML or HTML document,
> where each tag is allowed, and which tags can appear within other tags.
> Hence a set of elements, tags, attributes, semantics and processes help you
> to set up an EDI engine using XML.
>
> 8. XML interoperates with existing Security standards and solutions
> Information security is a major concern for one and all. Since XML can make
> use of the existing Internet and network infrastructure, it can take
> advantage of the framework for providing different degrees of security. This
> includes the following subjects that come under security.
> · Encryption ("wire-level security") – protecting data from prying eyes
> · Authentication – making sure the receiver of data is who they say they are
> · Authorization – Access level security
> · Privacy – you can access this data, but nobody else
> · Permissions and Data integrity – don't mess with the data
> And on each and every point discussed above, there exists credible solutions
> on XML technologies.
>
> 9. XML is an easy technology to be internationalized
> In the coming years, there will be a substantial increase in the number of
> computer users speaking languages apart from English. Information Technology
> has largely been built by the English-speaking world. Since business
> documentation in many countries is in local languages, it is important that
> thee is support for local languages while automating the processes. One of
> the drawbacks to EDI and some text file and database formats is that they
> don't easily support the needs for internationalization and localization.
> Currently, in those formats, it is difficult to represent information
> contained in a Unicode alphabet. XML as part of its initial specification
> supports these needs inherently.
> XML syntax allows for international characters that follow the Unicode
> standard to be included as content in any XML element. These can then be
> marked up and included in any XML-based exchange. The availability of
> internationalization features helps to avoid one of the problems faced by
> other formats, that of unnecessary schism and conflict in presenting
> information to different geographies.
>
> 10. Various Development languages are XML ready
> XML was never meant to be a programming language. It was meant to be a
> better way of representing information in an increasingly linked, online
> world. XML is a very simple and effective means of data exchange across
> platforms. The fact that companies are over-hyping XML is a function of the
> market's desire to build unique products and build unique value
> propositions. XML is easy to learn, implement, read, and test. It has
> shortened product development time for most XML related and data exchange
> projects that have used available XML standards and technologies.
> Developers writing applications in Java, C++, Python, Perl, VB, PHP and many
> other languages are already aware about the rich support for XML in these
> languages. Hence while some critics complain that XML is not a programming
> language on its own, the plethora of utilities and modules available in
> popular languages negate that drawback.
>
> 11. XML is free from future patent imbroglios and licensing issues
> One of the biggest deterrents that prevented large enterprises from
> embracing some of the open standards and many open source technologies last
> year was a worry about future patent or Intellectual Property related
> issues. This has forced a number of CIOs to bet on proprietary technologies
> and solutions. Anyone looking at XML at this point of time need not be
> worried about such problems.
>
> 12. XML supports dynamic database formats
> 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 also be used in
> situations where an external database may not be possible, or preferred.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Regards,
> VijayaraaghavanAM
> VijayaraaghavanAM@yahoo.com
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>
> ________________________________
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
>
> Visit your group "tech4all" on the web.
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> tech4all-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
> ________________________________
>
>
>

--
http://orionrobots.co.uk - Build Robots

Online Castle Building RPG -
http://www.darkthrone.com/recruit.dt?uid=V30311I30328J30379X30379E30260X30277

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
<font face=arial size=-1><a href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12hosrj0k/M=362335.6886445.7839731.1510227/D=groups/S=1705115386:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1123663253/A=2894361/R=0/SIG=13jmebhbo/*http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/education/digitaldivide/?source=YAHOO&cmpgn=GRP&RTP=http://groups.yahoo.com/">In low income neighborhoods, 84% do not own computers. At Network for Good, help bridge the Digital Divide!</a>.</font>
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tech4all/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
tech4all-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

posted by Bharath @ 11:40 PM