XML stands for Extensible Markup Language . The purpose of XML is to allow the user to define mark-up elements, working as a tool to encode documents, serialize data and aid information systems in sharing structured data. The last mentioned use of XML is closely related to the Internet, as it provides a basic syntax used for sharing information easily between computers, and it is also a basic tool for the creation of Web pages. XML is stored in plain text format and it focuses on the structure of the information. It allows even incompatible systems to share data in an easy manner, because it doesn´t need Document Type Definition (DTD), so it turns out to be time saving.
XML was based upon SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) , its predecessor, which was created in 1986. SGML is also a metalanguage in which one can define markup languages for documents. In 1997, not so long after the creation of the World Wide Web, Jon Bosak, together with a group of collaborators with james Clark as the Technical Lead, created XML 1.0 which achieved the goals of internet usability. Since then, new versions of XML 1.0 have been developed; the current version is actually the fifth.
This simple technology is not only applicable to the Internet; it is also used in other contexts such as voice machines, for example.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML, retrieved 2009, February 03, at 20:22.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML, retrieved 2009, February 03, at 20:27.
