XML to the Rescue
January 10, 2000
XML may just offer a way to build "Author once, deliver
anywhere" Internet sites.
Extensible Markup Language (XML) can be used to
create Web sites (or just about any other means of
exchanging data) in far more flexible ways than HTML.
While HTML is a mere markup language, XML is a language
for creating markup languages. Using XML, you can
describe the structure of a document, without defining
the display format. To format the data for different
devices, you can use
Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL), which is sort of
like Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for XML.
This step up the logical ladder means that the content and
structure of a site can be expressed separately from the
layout and formatting. Actually, this was kind of the
original idea of HTML and the Web itself, but aesthetic
considerations led to HTML becoming a sort of glorified
(and limited) word processor. XML offers a far more flexible
framework within which to present all types of media over
the Internet. It should also be apparent that XML offers
lots of opportunity for dynamic delivery of Web content,
with all the wonderful benefits discussed earlier.
We're on the verge of a third (some say a fourth) generation
of Web sites. The first generation featured text on a gray
background, with an occasional crummy picture - rather like
a low-budget magazine. The second generation gave us some
layout tools (thanks to tables and style sheets), some
rudimentary audio/video capabilities (RealPlayer, Shockwave)
and limited interactivity (forms and CGI scripts). But most
of these things seem kludgy and cobbled-together, and
inferior to the tools we were used to in older non-Web media.
Most of today's Web sites still feel like a print magazine,
albeit a very snazzy one with some little pockets of true
interactivity here and there.
The next generation of Web sites will be expected to
emulate, improve upon, and eventually gobble up all other
forms of media. Folks want to run fully-capable applications,
listen to "radio" stations, and watch full-motion video on
demand. And much more, I'm sure. The one-size-fits-all Web
is gone, and information will be exchanged in many different
forms, to suit the needs of the application. Web developers
who want to stay in the game will need to master the sort of
open, flexible tools that will make it all possible.
Additional Resources:
Compatibility Woes Forever
A Look at the Web Development World Ahead
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