Friday, 3 April 2009

What is XML and its use?

XML refers to Extensible Markup Language and was introduced to define custom markup languages. The need for XML arose when cross platform data sharing and operating system interoperability were common concerns in the development world/. XML enabled users to share their data in variable markup languages and represent the coded data in different formats.

The main purpose of XML in web development is to allow web developers to share and use the data connected with a website to be available in different formats. If it were not for the XML, latest web 2.0 application like RSS, Math GL, Graph GM, variable Vector Graphics and more would not have been possible. XML makes the impossible possible by enabling data to be viewed under semantic constraints and platforms.

Common example of commenting in XML is as


Basic Syntax of arbitrary root XML tags is as follows



XML data is defined in tree like structure like this