XML Basics To Get You Started
Written on March 6, 2010 – 6:04 pm | by Guru
For those seeking a document format that makes data exchange on the Web easy, then it’s time to learn XML, or Extensible Markup Language. Software of many varieties are already using XML to optimize data organization and presentation.
It’s the great flexibility of XML that makes it so appealing to web developers. Because of the way the language is structured, it is possible to exchange data in many different forms. Data access within XML is easier, as well, than it is with it’s sister markup language, HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language. Consider this: XML programming can tailor the look of one web page for either a mobile phone or a classic computer browser. Developers then could make one page instead of two. XML’s efficiency is probably becoming more clear!
Those who want to learn more about XML are well served by prior experience with HTML, though it isn’t necessary to become proficient. The two do go hand-in-hand in many respects, since they are both descendents of SGML, another markup language. The purpose of a markup language is to organize, categorize, or otherwise label content, and the markup describes the organization. Another way of looking at it is that markup contains the content, which is what you are looking at when you see an XML page rendered.
The need for XML emerged when the limitations of HTML became clear. In HTML, users cannot add new markup elements. This lack of flexibility gave way to the development of XML, which aimed to meet the evolving needs for document and data handling in a web environment.
This is just a short introduction for those who wonder just what the heck XML is. If you’re an aspiring web developer, XML learning should definitely be on your “to do” list.
Tags: business, internet, markup language, programming, website, xml
