What XML Is and What it is not…

What XML is?

1. Very easy to use and code. The complete specification document is less than 40 pages long. XML is designed to be easier to code than either HTML or full SGML.
2. It is an open standard – XML is a subset of SGML.
3. a learning curve – XML was designed by people with many years of experience, including members of the governing bodies for both SGML and HTML.
4. By its very name – extensible – you have the power to invent and use your own tags and, if you choose, share them with others.
5. Very efficient – XML can re-use document elements and fragments, so you only have to transmit them once.
6. Ready to use – web browsers can read XML today, just like HTML. You can use hyperlinks and images and multimedia, exactly as you do in HTML.
7. Fully international – it has built-in support for texts in the major global alphabets, including a method to signal what language and encoding is being used.

What XML is not?

1. It is not a  replacement for good old HTML. HTML is an excellent tool for displaying documents across a network. XML is designed for information providers who want to expand the horizons – something HTML is not geared up for.
2. It is not a replacement for SGML. To make XML simple, many features of SGML
3. It is not constrained to a defined set of tags
4. It is not clunky – you can use it secure in the knowledge that it is as efficient as possible.