What is XML?

XML is a standard, simple, self-describing way of encoding both text and data so that content can be processed with relatively little human intervention and exchanged across diverse hardware, operating systems, and applications XML Applications Areas: The applications that drive the acceptance of XML are those that cannot be accomplished within the limitations of HTML. These applications can be divided into three broad categories: 1. Applications that require the Web client to mediate between two or more heterogeneous databases. 2. Applications that attempt to distribute a significant proportion of the processing load from the Web server to the Web client. 3. Applications that require the Web client to present different views of the same data to different users. Applications of XML are: VECTOR MARKUP LANGUAGE:It is a language based on XML, which allows you to describe and format Vectors. It was designed to help the developers address book problems with binary graphic files. VML is supported by Office 2000. The great application of VML is the creation of menus, and navigational elements. Using VML you could create a graphic that serves as a background picture and then use XSL to dynamically insert Whatever text you want. . XML BASED VARIANT CONFIGURATION LANGUAGE (XVCL):Variants generally occur in software reuse. Suppose that a software product has to be run on Different platforms or the various versions of the same software are delivered to a set of customers and that it differs in some functional or non-functional area. XVCL allows you to configure product variants from common core generic, reusable Meta components. SMIL 2.0:It allows you to use a text editor to create reusable content such as audio, video that can be delivered through the Web and synchronize those components as needed. This is designed to help developers take advantage of technical capabilities and offers inter operability, flexibility and support for various devices. Developers also get Search features because the text file can include metadata components that are searchable. XML BASED DICTIONARIES FOR MXF/AAF APPLICATIONS:Advanced Authoring Format (AAF) is a binary file format for postproduction environment. It has a model that can be used for describing video, audio, etc., AAF applications can support extensions to the common meta data model because each AAF carries metadata model definitions, and the metadata .The

Material eXchange format is a binary stream that is used for interchange of audiovisual material. It can share a common Meta data model with the AAF. Web publishing: XML allows you to create interactive pages, allows the customer to customize those pages, and makes creating e-commerce applications more intuitive. With XML, you store the data once and then render that content for different viewers or devices based on style sheet processing using an Extensible Style Language (XSL)/XSL Transformation (XSLT) processor. Web searching and automating Web tasks: XML defines the type of information contained in a document, making it easier to return useful results when searching the Web: For example, using HTML to search for books authored by Tom Brown is likely to return instances of the term 'brown' outside of the context of author. Using XML restricts the search to the correct context are more efficient and produce more useful results. e-business applications: XML implementations make electronic data interchange (EDI) more accessible for information interchange, business-to-business transactions, and business-toconsumer transactions. Metadata applications: XML makes it easier to express metadata in a portable, reusable format. Pervasive computing: XML provides portable and structured information types for display on pervasive (wireless) computing devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular phones, and others. For example, WML (Wireless Markup Language) and VoiceXML are currently evolving standards for describing visual and speech-driven wireless device interfaces. Chemical Markup Language (CML) CML is used for molecular information management. Its extensive scope covers a wide range of subjects such as inorganic molecules, quantum chemistry and macromolecular sequences. Commerce eXtensible Markup Language (CXML) A protocol used for continuous communication of business documents used in e-commerce. Electronic Business XML (EBXML) It is used to provide an infrastructure allowing the use of electronic business information by everyone consistently and securely. Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) A protocol that is object based and used for information exchange in a decentralized and distributed environment. General applications: XML provides a standard method to access information, making it easier for applications and devices of all kinds to use, store, transmit, and display data.