XML
is the newest markup language, with the final specification released by the W3C
in February of 1998. XML is short for Extensible Markup Language, and extensible
implies that the language can be used for many different types of format applications
without breaking the specification. Another advantage of XML is the addition of
Unicode, an encoding standard for international characters. With this new support,
XML will be able to proliferate into environments where western characters are
not used.
Since
the primary application of XML is the Internet, it is quickly being adopted. With
Internet documents constantly being updated and upgraded, changing to XML data
is just another upgrade. Areas like e-commerce and news have benefited the most
so far, with other sectors making plans to move to XML.
With
lessons learned from HTML, the primary specification for XML is strict, similar
to the SGML specification. However, XML is also extensible enough that organizations
can differentiate their XML implementations without breaking the specification.
It is also mandatory that XML applications do not accept incorrect XML data, in
contrast to web browsers accepting any HTML code given to it.
XML
also makes the gathering of data from different locations possible, and combining
that data into one useable document. This data can even be processed to arrange
it in a particular order, and much more.
For
example, there could be a website has the capability to get prices from several
different online stores. The data could be sorted from lowest to highest price,
list shipping information, retailer information, and even retailer ratings from
a third party website. Such a page would easily let you make the best choice on
where to purchase the product, while saving a significant amount of time.
Netscape
Communications has been using XML for its Channel Definition format, which is
used mostly for news listings on its user page called Netcenter. Netcenter allows
users to customize their page by checking off news websites that interest them.
Their Netcenter page will then be updated with news feeds coming in from all the
websites that were checked off. This saves time because it is no longer necessary
to go to the several websites to get the same news items that are on the customized
Netcenter page.
The
Netscape Netcenter website is possible because news sites produce an XML file
containing their news in the Netscape Channel Definition format, which is just
an XML sub-specification. The Netscape servers then retrieve the XML file and
process it. When a user requests the Netcenter page, all of the XML information
is put together and sent to back to the user’s web browser as an HTML web page.
Netscape’s servers that handle this process have to be very fast because of the
complex data retrieval and manipulation that occurs, combined with the fact that
users do not like to wait.
The
example of the Netscape Netcenter shows the current drawback of XML, servers have
to process the XML and turn it into HTML for users to be able to get the data
through their web browsers. However, this can be considered temporary because
of changes coming in the consumer software industry.
New
XML Implementations
Web
browsers are beginning to support the reading of XML files directly, allowing
the bypass of complex server operations like Netscape’s. When an XML-compliant
web browser reads an XML file, it can work with the data directly instead of relying
on a server to translate it. By doing this, the user can manipulate the XML data,
and reloading the page is not necessary to see the changes.
An
example of this would be viewing a large inventory list. Once loaded, you would
be able to search and sort the whole file all you want without having to reload
anything from the Internet.
Many
other benefits can come out of reading XML files directly, such as advanced linking
options, better integration of a website’s design and its content, integrated
data from other websites similar to Netcenter, and much more. An XML web page
has the potential to be much more informative, easier to use, better looking,
faster loading, and less error prone than a comparable HTML page.
When will users be able to regularly start using XML directly on the Internet?
Today, the web browser Microsoft Internet Explorer supports XML, but in a manner
that is not compatible with all the standards. This will be fixed in 2000 with
an upcoming version. A new Netscape Communicator will be released in 2000 with
full XML support and standards compliance. Users will really start benefiting
from XML directly when they upgrade their browsers, and web designers are ready
to support XML pages.
Businesses
will also benefit from XML increasingly with the release of the new web browsers.
They are likely to start switching their internal information to XML format to
be used across their computer networks. By retooling their websites to use XML,
they will present more useful and informative information in a better format,
therefore improving customer relations.
