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1. What is XML?

Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a way of structuring data on the Web. Using XML, you

can create your own markup language. HTML concentrates on the presentation of data on the

Web. For example, when you use the

tag of HTML, the browser interprets it as a paragraph

and displays the text within the tags accordingly. XML, on the other hand, does not have any

predefined tags.

XML concentrates on the content within the tags. For example, for representing customer

information, you can create your own tag, . XML is a text-based format that lets

developers describe, deliver, and exchange data between different applications. It is a database-

and device-neutral format. It stores data in a structured text format, which can be easily used by

any computerized system. XML supports UNICODE as well and hence will help internationalize

the World Wide Web.

2. Who invented XML?

XML is designed by a working group of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which is an

organization that aims at leading the WWW to its full potential by developing common protocols

that promote the World Wide Web and ensure its interoperability. The XML development effort

started in 1996 led by Jon Bosak of Sun Microsystems. Bosak organized a diverse group of

markup language experts, from industry to academia, to develop a simplified version of SGML

(Standard Generalized Markup Language) for the Web. In February 1998, XML 1.0 specification

became a recommendation by the W3C.Today, the XML Working Group consists of 14

companies and organizations, including Adobe, Arbor Text, Data Channel, Fuji Xerox, Hewlett-

Packard, Inso, Isogen, Microsoft, Netscape, SoftQuad, and Sun Microsystems.

3. Will XML replace HTML?

No. XML is not going to replace anything that you have learned. XML complements it. You can

use XML to create your own tags and then use HTML tags to format the data in XML document.

You can use Cascading Style Sheets to define the font colors and the position of text within the

tags in an XML document.

4. What are the XML-related specifications?

XML is defined by the following specifications:

XML 1.0 defines the syntax of XML.

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XML Pointer Language (XPointer) and XML Linking Language (XLink) define the standard

way of representing links between various resources.

Extensible Style Sheet language (XSL) defines the style sheet language for XML.

The specifications for namespaces, XML Query Language, and XML Schema are being actively

pursued.

5. What are the key benefits of XML?

XML simplifies data interchange. It also reduces the cost involved in interchanging data between

different applications. It is a plain text format that can be understood by different software and

hardware platforms. Therefore, you do not require any special software for reading XML

data.XML is flexible and extensible, unlike traditional EDI, which had rigid transaction sets.

XML8 eXtensible Markup Language NIIT allows you to easily introduce new tags and thereby

create structured documents based on business

requirements. XML also provides support for Unicode. This feature allows you to create

applications that provide global language support.

6. What are the applications of XML?

XML is poised to play a prominent role as a data interchange format in electronic business Web

applications such as e-commerce, supply-chain management, and application integration.

Another use of XML is for structured information management, including information from

databases.XML also supports media-independent publishing, allowing documents to be written

once and published in multiple media formats and devices. On the client side, XML can be used

to create customized views of data based on user requirements. In case of the middle layer, XML

is fast emerging as a standard data interchange format between applications and various

components. For example, Microsoft .Net framework has introduced Web services, which use

XML for communication with the client application. A Web service is a piece of code that can be

accessed by using Internet protocols, such as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). A Web

service is similar to a component, which provides some functionality that can be accessed

without knowing about its implementation. However, components have a limitation. They use

object-model specific protocols, such as Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP) and Remote Method

Invocations (RMI), for communication. As against this, a Web service uses standard Internet

protocols such as HTTP and standard data formats such as eXtensible Markup Language (XML)

for communication over the Internet.