XML

• XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language.
• The XML standard was created by W3C, released in late 90's.
• It is a markup language.
• XML is used to basically communicate between different platforms and softwares.
• XML structures, stores and transports information.

How XML really works?
XML takes data from a program written in almost any language, converts it into XML and then shares it with other programs and platforms.

How to begin with XML?
To begin with XML, you need an XML editor and an XML viewer. An XML editor is a simple text editor having syntax highlighting (color codes to make the XML easier to read), some sort of way to validate the XML code that you write, and of course, the ability to create, edit, and save the XML documents. There are a number of free XML editors available online or you can purchase one for a more professioanl solution. There are many XML viewers. Popular browsers like Internet explorer 6.0 and firefox all support XML. Opera, another popular browser does not support XML.

Some small facts about XML..

• XML Holds Data, Nothing More
• XML Separates Structure from Formatting
• XML Promotes Data Sharing
• XML is Human-Readable
• XML is Free

Some features of XML

• It is based on international standards.
• It supports unicode.
• It is platform-independent.

Some advantages of XML

• XML provides data to be shared between different platforms and softwares.
• XML is software and hardware independent way of storing data. Hence, it allows different incompatible systems to share data without needing to pass through many layers of conversion.
• It makes it easier to expand or upgrade to new operating systems, new applications, or new browsers, without losing any data.
• It supports Unicode, allowing communication in almost any language.
• It is platform-independent, thus relatively immune to changes in technology.
• XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language), which is based on XML facilitates the process of transferring data and reporting financial results.

Some applications of XML

• Japanese banks use XBRL(eXtensible Business Reporting Language) in their daily business.
• Web publishing uses XML to have a single source for creating and updating all content to save time and cost.
• Governments in the world use XML for large documentation and printing maps.