So you’ve seen XML in the news lately? Asked yourself, what is XML?
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a versatile and widely-used computer language designed to give programmers flexible control over the structure, transportation, and storage of data. Unlike other markup languages, XML does not have predefined tags.
Instead, it provides a framework that allows developers to create their own custom tags to describe the elements of a document in a way that best suits their specific needs. This flexibility makes XML a powerful tool for organizing and managing data, as it can adapt to a wide variety of use cases across industries.
However, XML itself does not perform any actions or processing on its own. It is essentially a standard for defining data, and its true utility comes from being integrated with applications or systems.
Programmers need to design software or applications to interpret, process, and transmit the information contained in XML documents, enabling effective communication between systems or storing data in a structured and easily accessible format.
Example
<letter> <to>Tim Lancaster</to>
<from>James Morrison</from>
<subject>Great website design information</subject>
<content>I just read this great blog post at dogeatdogdesigns.com and thought you should too!</content>
</letter>
Google uses XML documents to access information about your website. Generally, the file used is called “sitemap.xml” and is submitted to Google through their Webmaster Tools. Each of Dog Eat Dog Design’s websites include an XML sitemap to inform Google what pages are important and what pages don’t need to be indexed.