Updated On:
After the introduction of this language in the late 90s, it has been updated on 29th September 2006 which is continuing till date. The latest version is 1.1.
Name: Extensible Markup Language
Referred to as: XML
Category:
Categories schema consists of categories which is the root element in it. You can define the category, as the set of category elements that are embedded within categories for storage and usage in a project.
You need to make sure that individual category should have a friendly reference name that is unique to the project. Meeting the following requirements is essential for each category name.
- The Unicode characters in the names can be up to 254.
- The striking aspect of the category is that it cannot be empty.
- Names with leading and trailing white space and backslash characters are forbidden.
- Two consecutive white spaces are also not possible in such names.
Hence, you need to keep these points in mind before you finalize the category name.
Correct Use: n/a
Description:
XML is the short form of Extensible Markup Language which is an entirely text-based markup language that is extracted from Standard Generalized Markup Language.
As storage for self-descriptive data it was first published on February 10, 1998, and it became a W3C recommendation.
The tags in it are to be defined and it is platform independent. In short, this language uses a set of rules to encode documents in such a format that is readable by both machines and humans.
The USP of this language is that communication between two platforms that are difficult becomes easy with the use of XML.
Moreover, it is very powerful because of its international acceptance, especially for databases, office applications mobile phones, programming, etc.
Many corporations have incorporated the XML interface because of its platform-independent feature.
The main function of the XML tag is to identify the data and use it to store and organize the data. Some of its important features that you should know are:
1. It is extensible
It will allow you to create a self-descriptive language that will suit your application.
2. It conceals data
The focus of XML is to carry the data and also store it irrespective of its presentation style.
3. It is a public standard
It is completely available as an open standard.
Our take:
There is no doubt about the fact that XML is widely adopted for various purposes across all mediums because of its flexibility and adaptability. Some major jobs that can be easily done with XML are given below for your knowledge.
Extra reading:
Do:
If you are into the programmatic advertising world then there are certain tasks that you can do with the help of XML. Like:
- You can use XML to work behind the scene to simplification of the creation of HTML documents on large websites.
- The exchange of information between organizations and systems is much easier using this language.
- You can offload and reload databases using XML.
- Customization of data handling needs is a basic necessity nowadays and XML helps to store and arrange such data.
- Moreover, the desired output can be attained with the help of XML by merging it with different style sheets.
- Presentation of any kind of data is possible with the XML document.
Don’t:
Some drawbacks of XML that makes it unsuitable to use with the latest databases are:
- You cannot access speed with this language as it is not programmed to do so. All XML documents are to be loaded entirely to use them as a data source making it time-consuming.
- XML is not compact. You cannot compress XML as no structure or format is available for such purposes. For XML parsers, the uncompressed text is essential.
Do not incorporate binary data in XML as it does not support it because of its unsuitability for embedded markup. XML is only appropriate for text data with a hierarchical structure.
Tip:
You can use the following tips to use XML commands efficiently.
- The XML file is in a particular place where you need to identify all the elements and write them in the same format across all such files.
- Manage the syntax properly.
- The usage of different names in XML files makes it readable. Or else, if conflicts arise, then such files cannot be read.
- Always clarify the definition of elements and syntax.
- You can edit the XML documents in any operating system without using any expensive software.
In short, XML will simplify your data sharing, data transport, platform changes, and data availability.
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