XML Full Form

XML stands for Extensible Markup Language. It is a type of markup language and file format used to store, transport, and recreate arbitrary data. Its function is comparable to that of HTML but without the pre-set tag system. Rather, you create your own tags that are tailored to your individual requirements. This is a very effective means of storing data in a given format. 

Essentially, because the basic structure of XML is standardised, the receiver can still interpret the data whenever they share or transfer XML between systems or platforms, whether locally or via the internet, thanks to the standardised XML language. 

There are several languages that are based on XML such as XHTML, MathML, SVG, XUL, XBL, RSS, and RDF. One could also customise their own.

HOW DOES XML WORK?

XML’s layout principles stress on simplicity, universality, and cross-platform usability over the web. It is a text-based data structure with robust Unicode compatibility for a variety of human spoken languages. Even though XML was created with the intent of representing documents, it is now commonly used to represent arbitrary data formats like those found in internet services. 

It establishes a collection of guidelines for encoding information in a human and machine-readable manner. There are several schema models for defining XML-based languages, and developers have created numerous APIs (application programming interfaces) for parsing XML data.

Serialisation, that is saving, transferring, and recreating arbitrary data, is the primary goal of XML. In order for two different systems to transfer data, they must first have an agreement on a file format. This procedure is standardised using XML. 

Because XML is a markup language, it names, classifies, and arranges information structurally. The data structure is defined by XML tags, which also consists of metadata.  The data included within the tags are encoded according to the XML standard. 

A separate XML schema (XSD) specifies the metadata required for translating and verifying XML (canonical schema is another name for this).  A well defined XML document follows the fundamental XML rules, while a valid XML document follows its schema.

APPLICATIONS OF XML

XML has become widely utilised for data exchange across the Internet. Scores of content formats have been created using XML syntax. XML serves as the foundation for communication protocols like SOAP and XMPP. It is also used by the Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) programming approach as its message exchange format.

XML is used widely for varied types of works like Web, e-commerce, and movable applications. 

Publishing over the internet

XML enables you to construct interactive pages, allowing users to personalise them, and simplifies the development of e-commerce applications.

Using XML, you can store the data once and then use an Extensible Style Language (XSL) or XSL Transformation (XSLT) processor to display it for multiple viewers or gadgets depending on style sheet processing.

Tools for e-business

Electronic data interchange (EDI) is more usable with XML applications for data transmission, B2B transactions, and B2C transactions.

Online searching and task automation

When searching the Internet, XML describes the type of data included in a document, making it simpler to provide useful results. For example, when searching for books written by Jane Austen, using HTML may certainly show instances of the word ‘ Austen ‘ beyond the context of “author”. 

Using XML limits the search to the proper context (such as the data held in the <author> tag) and only delivers the results you desire. Internet agents and bots (applications that automate Online searches or other operations) become more efficient and offer more valuable results when they use XML.

Wireless computing

XML enables transportable and organised data formats for display on wireless computing gadgets such as PDAs (personal digital assistants), cell phones, and other similar devices. WML (Wireless Markup Language) and VoiceXML, for example, are standards for expressing visual and speech-driven wireless gadget interfaces that are currently in development.

Metadata applications

XML allows expressing metadata in a transportable and reusable manner much easier.

Usage in general

XML offers a common approach for accessing data, making it convenient for various types of apps and systems to utilise, retain, transfer, and visualise information.

SOME KEY TERMINOLOGY OF XML

Processor and application

The processor decodes the markup and sends structured data to an application. The specification specifies what an XML processor must and must not accomplish. However, the application is not covered by it. The processor (as defined in the specification) is commonly referred to as an XML parser.

Character

A sequence of characters makes up an XML document. An XML document can contain almost any permitted Unicode character.

Content and markup

Markup and content are two types of characters that make up an XML document, they may be differentiated using basic syntax principles. In general, markup strings start with the character “<” and conclude with a “>”, or they start with the symbol & and finish with a “;”. 

Content is made up of sequences of characters that aren’t markup.   Additionally, markup is defined as whitespace preceding and following the outermost element.

Tags

A markup structure that starts with < and concludes with > is a tag. 

There are 3 kinds of tags – 

Start tag, that is < xx >

End tag, that is </ xx >

And, empty-element tag, that is < xx />

CONCLUSION

XML means Extensible Markup Language which is a type of file format and markup language for saving, transferring and reconstructing arbitrary data. XML offers features for determining the coding of the Unicode elements that make up the document, as well as representing characters that cannot be used directly for various reasons.