eXtensible Markup Language

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eXtensible Markup Language
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David Turner, Product Manager, Microsoft

• ''The introduction of XML is in many ways like
  the creation of writing in the evolution of
  language. People had spoken language for a long
  period before they got to the point of inventing
  writing. But as soon as they did, they were able
  to make huge steps forward.''

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Data on the Web HTML and XML

• The Web is
• A huge collection of hypermedia documents
• A gateway to databases and applications
• A platform for interacting with services (Web
  Services)
• It started with HTML
• Markup language to define document layout
• Hyperlinks for navigation
• Interactive forms

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Data on the Web HTML and XML(Contd)

• Limitations of HTML
• Structure of data expressed as layout (example)
• Semantics of data hard to analyse and difficult
  to share
• No schemas, no constraints
• Thus XML (eXtensible Markup Language) has been
  developed
• Markup language to define structured documents
• Document schemas to fix the structure of
  documents
• User-defined markup to express semantics
• XML architecture for processing and extended
  functionality

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What is XML?

• XML means Extensible Markup Language
• extensible - not fixed format like HTML
• XML is a metalanguage - a language for describing
  other languages
• Enables you to define your own customized markup
  languages for different classes of documents

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What is XML? (cont.)

• Abbreviated version of SGML
• IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and Sun all agree XML is
  the key to e-business
• XML enables business application sharing, direct
  transactions and other business applications.

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What is SGML?

• SGML is the international standard for defining
  descriptions of the structure and content of
  different types of electronic documents
• A universal language used to describe thousands
  of different data types

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What is HTML?

• HTML is HyperText Markup Language, a specific
  application of SGML used on the World Wide Web
• A simple, fixed type of document. Markup
  designed for simple reports with provisions for
  hypertext links and multimedia

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Relationship Between XML and HTML
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Example Data in HTML Vs XML
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Example Data in HTML Vs XML
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Example Data in HTML Vs XML
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Data and Document
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What does XML mean for e-commerce? (cont)

• Companies running different accounting and
  business management applications will exchange
  documents in a cross-system flow
• ebXML is mapping business processes to facilitate
  XML to XML B2B

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XML Organizations

• Over 250 XML industry efforts documented by Robin
  Cover at OASIS.org
• XML.org, XML.com, RossettaNet.org
• UDDI Facilities XML to XML exchanges
• XBRL The Business Reporting Language