Extensible Markup Language-XML

Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language that is used to store and transport data. It is designed to be both human-readable and machine-readable, making it a popular format for exchanging data between different systems and applications.

XML uses tags to define the structure and content of data, much like HTML. However, unlike HTML, XML tags are not predefined and can be customized by the user. This allows for greater flexibility and extensibility in defining the structure and content of data.

XML documents are commonly used in web services, where data is exchanged between different systems and applications over the internet. XML documents can be validated using a Document Type Definition (DTD) or an XML Schema, which defines the structure and content of the document and ensures that it adheres to a predefined format.

Some of the key features and benefits of XML include:

Platform-Independent – XML is a platform-independent format that can be used on any operating system or platform.

Self-Describing – XML documents are self-describing, meaning that they contain all the necessary information to describe their structure and content.

Extensible – XML is extensible, meaning that it can be customized to fit the specific needs of a particular application or system.

Interoperable – XML is interoperable, meaning that it can be used to exchange data between different systems and applications, regardless of the programming language or platform used. Hierarchical – XML data is hierarchical in nature, meaning that it can be structured in a tree-like format that is easy to navigate and process.

Although Microsoft had a hand in the specifications for Extensible Markup Language (XML), the standards come from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Microsoft uses XML extensively in its Web technologies as a way of passing data around. These data exchanges include browser-to-server, server-to-browser, server-to-server, and from one program to another. XML is also a big part of AJAX. XML data has three big advantages

It’s generated as plain text so that it passes easily through firewalls.
Humans can read it and make at least some sense of it.
You can create, parse, and manipulate XML on any platform, not just on Microsoft’s operating systems.