XML

XML is a text-based markup language designed to define the content of a document. The data in the document is identified using the XML tags in accordance with strict standards. XML defines a standard format that allows the data to be defined, stored, displayed, processed, and exchanged across platforms, languages, and applications.

There is no fixed set of tags. We can define our own tags. The tags, attributes, and element structure provide information that can be used to interpret the meaning of content. This is a major advantage over HTML or plain text in which context information is difficult to evaluate. This structured approach makes it an ideal choice for e-business purposes.

XML uses a Document Type Definition (DTD) to describe the data and is free and extensible. XML is basically designed to focus more on data rather than what the data is. XML is a cross-platform, software and hardware-independent tool for transmitting information.

XML is a W3C standard endorsed by software industry market leaders. XML documents can also contain any possible data type right from multimedia data (image, sound, and video) to active components (Java applets and ActiveX).