Inside XML

CDF Overview

Channel Definition Format (CDF) is a Microsoft XML application for use with Internet Explorer. As mentioned in the introduction to this chapter, CDF enables automatic user notification when a Web site changes.

XML and Microsoft XML has been steadily gaining support at Microsoft over the years. As of this writing, Microsoft has just indicated that the next version of Visual Studio, which is the host for such products as Visual Basic and Visual C++, is going to rely heavily on XML, as will MS Office applications.

How does CDF look in practice? Take a look at Figure 18.3. There, I've added a channel named Planets, complete with a simple icon, to Internet Explorer. To see the available channels, you click the Favorites button in Internet ...