Why XML?

• The Intent of HTML
  • use a limited set of tags to convey basic information about the structure of a document
  • simple and versatile
• "The HTML Dilemma"
  • user want documents to do more - more than simple HTML can do
  • extending HTML as a standard reduces its usefulness as a simple markup language
  • browser specific extensions have led to an increasing number of dysfunctional HTML documents on the Web.
  • the style and logic of a document are hard-wired into the browser
• Introducing XML
  • "HTML is the low-end Volkswagen of markup languages and SGML is the high-end Rolls Royce" - Murray Maloney
  • need something in the middle, World Wide Web Consortium (chaired by Jon Bosak of Sun Microsystems)
• Possible Alternatives to XML
  • Plug-Ins
    • require user to download
    • proprietary data formats (a giant step backwards)
  • Java
    • Java promises many things; however a minority of people can do them - programmers
    • end up embedding content in a specific program