>>> "Paul Williams" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 06/28/00 03:54am >>>
>IS THERE REALLY ANY BENEFIT FOR USING XML?
> As I understand it, when we receive an XML message we will still
> have to run it through an application (such as Gentran so we can map
> out into a format that our database systems (such as Oracle) can
> understand. Using a Parsa and a DTD (and with all the XML tags in the
> file) surly it's more complicated and increases the size of the message
> being sent?
I am very new to this, as well. I'll take a shot at what I hope the benefits
will be (and I will learn from anyone who corrects my understanding).
First, Oracle and other DB vendors (plus application vendors, groupware
vendors... I hear there is XML support in Mr. Coffee) are announcing
native XML support, and I believe this trend will continue so that XML
becomes a/the common import/export functionality.
Second, much of XML's value is in its presentation capabilities, so you
must factor your need (or lack thereof) for intelligent presentation
capability into your evaluation of the benefits. Unadulterated XML for B2B
probably doesn't make sense (perhaps ebXML will).
Finally, I like a standard messaging medium that can be self-documenting
(McLuhan's "The Medium is the Message" comes to mind). Whether XML
will mature to this point remains to be seen, but I like its potential.
As I said, these are just my naive views...
Dan Paolini
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