XML is used in many aspects of web development, often to simplify data storage and sharing.
XML Can Separate Data from HTML.
When HTML is used to display data, the data is stored inside HTML.
With XML, data can be stored in separate XML files.
This way you can focus on using HTML for data layout and display, and be sure that changes in the underlying data will not require any changes to your HTML.
XML data can also be stored inside HTML pages as “Data Islands.”
You can still concentrate on using HTML only for formatting and displaying the data.
XML Simplifies Data Sharing.
In the real world, computer systems and databases contain data in incompatible formats.
XML data is stored in plain text format.
This provides a software- and hardware-independent way of storing data and makes it much easier to create data that different applications can share; e.g., the BBC Weather RSS Feed is more useful than BBC Weather.
XML Simplifies Data Transport.
With XML, data can easily be exchanged between incompatible systems.
One of the most time-consuming challenges for developers is to exchange data between incompatible systems over the Internet.
Exchanging data as XML greatly reduces this complexity, since the data can be read by different incompatible applications.
XML Simplifies Platform Changes.
Upgrading to new systems (hardware or software platforms), is always very time consuming.
Large amounts of data must be converted and incompatible data is often lost.
XML data is stored in text format.
This makes it easier to expand or upgrade to new operating systems, new applications, or new browsers, without losing data.
Demonstration
The following demonstration shows how the script of XML is displayed on the Web.
