What is XML?
XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language
XML is a markup language much like HTML
XML was designed to store and transport data
XML was designed to be self-descriptive
XML is a W3C Recommendation
The XML language has no predefined tags.
XML allows you to define your own custom tags unlike HTML that has pre-defined tags.
With XML, the author must define both the tags and the document structure.
Most XML applications will work as expected even if new data is added (or removed).
XML is platform and language neutral and independent which means it will work with most operating systems and programming languages.
XML Simplifies Things
XML simplifies data sharing
XML simplifies data transport
XML simplifies platform changes
XML simplifies data availability
Many computer systems contain data in incompatible formats. Exchanging data between incompatible systems (or upgraded systems) is a time-consuming task for web developers. Large amounts of data must be converted, and incompatible data is often lost.
XML stores data in plain text format. This provides a software- and hardware-independent way of storing, transporting, and sharing data.
XML also makes it easier to expand or upgrade to new operating systems, new applications, or new browsers, without losing data.
With XML, data can be available to all kinds of "reading machines" like people, computers, voice machines, news feeds, etc.