Where to start....
| XML itself is a scheme for data *storage*. Who cares about how the
| data is stored?
XML is also serves as transmission format, which allows data to be shared
between applications/platforms. It provides a standard middle tier that is
VERY powerful.
| No, your concerns are at the next level up, with the SQL, the
| Structured Query Language, that lets you get to the data.
True, but that is why the DOM and SAX where developed.
| XML has no equivalent to SQL currently.
Wrong. XSLT _IS_ SQL for XML. "XSLT changes XML from merely being a storage
and transmission format for data into an active information source that
could be queried and manipulated in a flexible, declarative way." XSLT -
Programmers Reference by Michael Kay.
You use XSLT to transform the data by "querying" it based on pattern matches
and criteria. Sound familiar? Kay goes on and compares current XSLT to the
early implementation of SQL. Programmers have a hard time grasping the
concept and how it will aid them.
| and personally, I'm not gonna waste
| time learning XML until such a query language is standardized. You betcha
| there is gonna be a query language developed, and when it happens, you'll
| totally forget about the underlying XML structure itself.
But your missing the beauty of XML. Its readable friendly to both humans
and computers. I can look at an XML file and know exactly what is in it,
its a self-describing language. Since I have been researching and working
with XML, I can honestly say that this is the future of data and the web.
With all the diverse application servers/development environments making up
the web there was one thing missing... the communication between these
applications. With XML we can bridge the gap and provide a link between
systems to allow for collaborative information sharing and distribution.
Isn't this what the Internet is all about? Information communication?
Think of it this way. 10 people are placed in a single room speaking 10
different languages and told to produce an article on what their experience
has been like in the room. Since they can not speak to each other you are
going to get 10 different articles describing 10 experiences that are
basically similar. But what if they could talk to each other through a
common intermediary language. What your going to get is 1 common article
rich with information based on their collaborative experiences. They then
also translate that one article back into their 10 native languages easily
and return to their countries with a great piece of work. The productive
nature of the group is increased 10 fold by this "intermediary language"
(XML).
This is just the macro view on how XML is inherently useful. And believe me
there are a 10s of micro reasons to use XML (most notably balancing the
performance between the client/server). And if I ever get some free time
away from programming/life I would like break some of these down so I can
share what I have learned. (As well as get feedback/ideas/criticism, this
will only make the methods better)
| IMHO, both Java and XML are one level deeper than where I care to
| work; and really where most folks care to work.
I agree. For most work XML is not necessary. In the coming years there
will be exponentially more requirements to make these applications
communicate to each other. I have already been exposed to this on a large
scale, and have been spending about 90% of my time XML enabling applications
to communicate with each other.
Its good stuff, and like everything new, its a little scary, but when you
step into the dark and give your eyes (mind) time to adjust, you will begin
to see again.
Phew... I hope this was somewhat informative.
Happy Coding!
-Brett Suwyn
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