The Power of XML
You might wonder why XML is suddenly so popular. To understand the popularity, you must consider the alternatives. Humans and computers need some standardized way of moving data from one application to another or from one computer to another. The transport mechanism needs to have the following qualities:
Self-describing. It must require no external support to “understand” the data.
Able to maintain full data integrity. It must transport all the information about the data, including types, relations, and so on.
Able to move through firewalls and across the Internet.
Extensible. You must be able to extend the standard without breaking existing uses.
Universally understood and subscribes to an open standard.
Think of some common mechanisms ...
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access