A.1 What is XML?
XML is the
Extensible Markup Language. It improves the functionality of the Web by letting
you identify your information in a more accurate, flexible, and adaptable way.
It is
extensible because it is not a fixed format like HTML (which is a single,
predefined markup language). Instead, XML is actually a metalanguage—a
language for describing other languages—which lets you design your own markup
languages for limitless different types of documents. XML can do this because
it's written in SGML, the international standard metalanguage for text document
markup (ISO 8879).
Q. What is
XML?
A. XML, the
Extensible Markup Language, is a universal syntax for describing and structuring
data independent from the application logic. XML can be used to define
unlimited languages for specific industries and applications.
Q. Who
developed XML?
A. XML is an
activity of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The XML development effort
started in 1996.
A diverse
group of markup language experts, from industry to academia, developed a
simplified version of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) for the Web.
In February 1998, XML 1.0 specification became a recommendation by the W3C.
Q. What are
the key benefits of XML?
A. XML
promises to simplify and lower the cost of data interchange and publishing in a
Web environment. XML is a text-based syntax that is readable by both computer
and humans. XML offers data portability and reusability across different
platforms and devices. It is also flexible and extensible, allowing new tags to
be added without breaking an existing document structure. Based on Unicode, XML
provides global language support.
Q. What are
the applications of XML?
A. XML is
poised to play a prominent role as a data interchange format in B2B Web
applications such as e-commerce, supply-chain management, workflow, and
application integration. Another use of XML is for structured information
management, including information from databases. XML also supports
media-independent publishing, allowing documents to be written once and
published in multiple media formats and devices. On the client, XML can be used
to create customized views into data.
Q. What is the
relationship between XML and Java technology?
A. XML and the
Java technology are complementary. Java technology provides the portable,
maintainable code to process portable, reusable XML data. In addition, XML and
Java technology have a number of shared features that make them the ideal pair
for Web computing, including being industry standards, platform-independence,
extensible, reusable, Web-centric, and internationalized.
Q. What are
the benefits of using Java technology with XML?
A. Java
technology offers a substantial productivity boost for software developers
compared to programming languages such as C or C++. In addition, developers
using the Java platform can create sophisticated programs that are reusable and
maintainable compared to programs written with scripting languages. Using XML
and Java together, developers can build sophisticated, interoperable Web
applications more quickly and at a lower cost.
Q. What
XML-related activities is Sun participating in?
A. Sun is
actively participating in W3C working groups for XML Stylesheet/Transformation
Language (XSL/T), XML Schema, Xlink, and XML Query. Sun is also participating
in a number of other industry consortia including Oasis, XML.org, and Apache.
Q. Where can I
find additional documentation?
A. The Java
Technology & XML Documentation page has a comprehensive list of all
documentation related to Java Technology and XML available on this website.
