XQuery's Niche
XQuery has been much hyped, but is it sufficiently different from XSLT to be
successful? Edd Dumbill follows a debate looking for XQuery's niche.
The Cost of XML
The apparent overhead of using XML is once more in the spotlight, as is the
financial overhead of using eBay's web services. Edd Dumbill reports.
On Folly
XML-oriented programming languages? Crazy! The Semantic Web? Nuts! Or perhaps
not. Edd Dumbill on how the crackpots were right all long.
Faster, Faster!
Edd Dumbill reports on debate about making XML faster and leaner and offers the
opportunity to send nominations for this year's XML Anti-Awards.
XML, the Web, and Beyond
XML community coverage; browser technology and open content join traditional XML
topics in the new-look XTech 2005 conference; plus debate on when multiple schemas
are the
best way forward.
How Do I Hate Thee?
Find out everyone's top five dislikes about XML, and get to the bottom of exactly
why namespaces tops the list.
Linkin' Park
One of the original trinity of XML specs, XML linking has largely failed. Can,
and should, we fix it?
Notes and XQueries
Why is XQuery taking seven years to develop? And what's an XML spec worth these
days, anyway? Lively debate from the world of XML.
Not Evil, Just Smelly
Hypertext guru Ted Nelson reckons XML is evil. XML folk reckon Nelson is mad. But
is there truth in what he says?
Lady and the Tramp
If XML's the Lady, then RSS is the Tramp. But while RSS is energetically being
refined and embraced, the Lady's ossifying rapidly.
RDF Roundup
Edd Dumbill's report on XML community discussions covers how to write XML
documents as RDF models and more incredulity at the WS-* web services
specifications.
Fallacy and Lunacy
In his regular look at the world of XML, Edd Dumbill uncovers the fallacies of
XML Schema usage, and scoffs at the lunacy of SOAP.
Constraining Validation
What's the difference between validation and business rules? XML developers
discuss how and why to use them.
All Roads Lead to RDF
A recent article by Mark Nottingham suggests that RDF may well be the answer to
the difficulties inherent in specifying web services with W3C XML Schema. Edd Dumbill
reports.
Misconceive Early, Misconceive Often
Our XML community column examines the fallout from Mark Pilgrim's claim that XML
on the Web has failed; plus the emerging use of an alternative to URIs in RDF.
Caveat Incumbent
Is XHTML an evil intrusion into the Web by religious lunatics from the cult of
XML? And does XML-ification really help anyway?
Browser Boom
Edd Dumbill reports on the boom in web-browser innovation as well as Mozilla and
Opera's mysterious desertion of the W3C as a forum.
Eternal Refactoring
A summary of the latest happenings in the XML and RDF developer communities:
refactoring specifications, Amazon wishlists in RDF, and XML as art.
Moving On, But Not So Far
In his last week as editor of XML.com, Edd Dumbill says goodbye after nearly five
years of directing the web site.
The State of XML
In this closing keynote speech to XML Europe 2004, Edd Dumbill summarizes XML's
recent changes and enduring strengths.
The XML.com Interview: Jeff Barr
Amazon.com's web services API has met with broad success. Jeff Barr, Amazon's web
services evangelist, speaks to Edd Dumbill.
Making Web Services Work at Amazon
Jeff Barr, Amazon's web services evangelist, presented Tuesday at XML 2003,
explaining the decisions involved in making Amazon's puiblic web services strategy
a
success.
Intelligent Documents Headline XML 2003
A report from the opening plenary session of IDEAlliance's XML 2003 conference
and exposition in Philadelphia, PA, USA.
XML at Five
To celebrate five years of XML, Edd Dumbill interviews a selection of XML
old-timers and experts about their experiences of XML and hopes for the
future.
Whither Web Services?
With the technology press taking a more measured view of web services, does this
mean the party's over? Edd Dumbill argues that the future of web services and XML
are
closely linked, and that the fun's only just beginning
TAG's Iron Fist
The W3C's Technical Architecture Group's condemnation of HLink has met with an
angry response. Edd Dumbill says that the TAG's approach isn't good for the web or
for the
W3C.
Kicking out the Cuckoo
Web services are a distraction from the true business of developing the Web,
argues Edd Dumbill, and the W3C should stop wasting resources on their
development.
Welcome Web Services Activity
Commentary on the W3C's launch of a Web Services Activity, along with the usual
sideways look at the world of XML.
Bright Year In Prospect For XML
Edd Dumbill reviews some of the promising areas of XML for the coming year,
including presentation technologies and a renaissance in independent contributions
to
XML.
<taglines/> Anti-Awards 2001
XML.com's answer to industry awards ceremonies, these anti-awards seek to burst a
few of the XML industry's overinflated bubbles.
Clark Challenges the XML Community
XML philanthropist James Clark delivered the opening keynote at XML 2001,
describing five important challenges facing the XML community.
Plaudits and Pundits
The return of the <taglines/> comment column, handing out plaudits to
Adobe, introducing XML Europe 2002, and soliciting nominations for the XML.com Anti-Awards
2001.
High Hopes for the Universal Business Language
The Universal Business Language (UBL) is a new effort to standardize XML business
documents, being spearheaded by Jon Bosak. In this interview, Bosak describes UBL's
aims and
its relationship to ebXML.
The Selfish Tag
Even in the standards-led world of today, an attitude of pragmatic selfishness is
the best policy for developers using XML in their applications.
XML You Can Touch
What's really hot these days in XML isn't the latest spec, but it's the software
that's using XML. Edd Dumbill takes a look at how XML has been adopted in the GNOME
desktop
platform.
XML Divided
As XML application grows, it is inevitable that it will divide into different
communities, but a strong commitment to interoperability must remain key.
Picture Perfect
The W3C's publication of the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Recommendation
heralds a new age for graphics in the emerging multi-device Web.
A New Old Angle on XML
XML's syntax may be its strongest asset, but non-XML syntaxes can help make XML
even more usable.
A New Kind of Namespace
Light finally dawns in XML-DEV on the reason behind the inclusion of
locally-scoped element names in W3C XML Schema.
The White Heat of Marketing
Has marketing hype overwhelmed technical excellence in the development of XML, or
does it really matter?
The Web's Grand Planners
Edd Dumbill examines the W3C's new architectural watchdog, the TAG, and whether
it will have much influence over the development of XML.
Programming Web Services with XML-RPC
This excerpt from O'Reilly & Associates' recently published Programming Web Services
with
XML-RPC discusses using PHP to integrate two web applications into a
single interface. In the given example, the authors show how a technology news service
based
on RSS (RDF Site Summary) feeds was created.
Washed Clean, Washed Up
In the first installment of his new XML.com column, Edd Dumbill takes a look at
the latest incarnation of SOAP, and the ever-changing XML conference scene.
XML on the Cheap
If you're new to XML, or simply want a to play around with it a little, there are
plenty of resources on the Web you can use for free, many without even installing
software
on your computer.
Preview: O'Reilly XTech 2001 Conference on XML
O'Reilly's XTech 2001 will be held from July 23-27 in San Diego, California. The
conference chair, Edd Dumbill, previews this essential meeting for XML
developers.
Schema Scuffles and Namespace Pains
W3C XML Schema is complete. End of story? No way! Debates over Schema best
practice have dominated XML-DEV over recent weeks.
The State of XML: Why Individuals Matter
A survey of the progress of XML over the last year, emphasizig that in an
industry increasingly dominated by large vendors, individual contributors are still
key.
Around and About at XML Europe 2001
Pictures and notes from the GCA's XML Europe 2001 conference.
A Web Less Boring
Tim Bray condemned the state of web browser technology, saying it was responsible
for making the Web dull, in his opening keynote at XML Europe 2001 in Berlin.
Call for Participation in XTech 2001 "Bleeding Edge XML"
The XTech2001 XML developer conference, part of the O'Reilly Open Source
Convention, has reserved program slots for late breaking presentations of bleeding-edge
XML
development work.
Reports from WWW10
Highlights from the 10th International World Wide Web conference, which took
place last week in Hong Kong.
Practical Internationalization
An interview with Tim Bray about the joys and pains of implementing a truly
internationalized web application.
XML Hype Down But Not Out In New York
Signs of reality were setting in this week at XML DevCon 2001 in New York City.
As vendors and professionals were feeling the pinch of the economic conditions, the
cloud of
dust raised by recent overmarketing was starting to settle.
Tim Berners-Lee on the W3C's Semantic Web Activity
The World Wide Web Consortium has recently embarked on a program of development
on the Semantic Web. This interview outlines the vision behind the new Activity, and
how it
relates to XML in general.
Building the Semantic Web
Tim Berners-Lee's vision of the Semantic Web is undoubtedly exciting, but its
success will lie in the extent to which it solves real world problems.
Knowledge Technologies 2001: Conference Diary
The inaugural Knowledge Technologies conference brought together members of
diverse communities, all concerned with managing knowledge: from RDF and Topic Maps
to
AI.
XML on the Move
A report from XML DevCon Europe, London. On the first day of the conference,
Henry Thompson spoke on XML Schemas and the XML Infoset, and David Orchard gave an
overview
of the world of web services.
Berners-Lee and the Semantic Web Vision
In a keynote session at XML 2000 Tim Berners-Lee, Director of the World Wide Web
Consortium, outlined his vision for the Semantic Web.
Developers' Day at XML 2000
The XML Developers' Day at XML 2000, chaired by Jon Bosak, was composed of
"late-breaking" developments in XML, and provided many valuable insights into developing
XML
systems.
XML DevCon Fall 2000 Coverage
Collected coverage from XML.com of the XML DevCon Fall 2000 conference, held
November in San Jose.
Embracing Web Services
Delivering a talk entitled "Web Services: Requirements, Challenges and
Opportunities," Greg Hope laid down the future of web business as Microsoft sees it,
and
especially the role of XML technologies.
Should XML Become a "Real" Standard?
XML standards developers gathered Monday night at XML DevCon Fall 2000 in San
Jose to discuss the future of XML as a standard.
A Uniform Interface for Authoring
In the first session of the XML DevCon Fall 2000 conference, Greg Stein delivered
an introduction to WebDAV, Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning protocol.
Distributed XML
In this speech to the XML World 2000 conference in Boston, XML.com Editor Edd
Dumbill gives an overview of the integrated future of XML and the Web, and the role
that
SOAP and RDF will play in that vision.
The Semantic Web: A Primer (II)
The Semantic Web: A Primer
The question "What is the Semantic Web?" is being asked with increasing
frequency. While mainstream media is content with a high level view, XML developers
want to
know more, and discover the substance behind the vision.
XML Protocol Technology Reference
A quick reference to the most important technologies and initiatives in the XML
protocols area, with links to specifications, white papers, and developer
communities.
A Few Bumps
Some problems are due to success, some are growing pains, and some just refuse to
go away. XML has all of these, chronicled as ever by the
XML-Deviant.
Putting RDF to Work
Tool and API support for the Resource Description Framework is slowly coming of
age. Edd Dumbill takes a look at RDFDB, one of the most exciting new RDF
toolkits.
eCo Architecture
The State of XML - Part 2
In his closing keynote speech at XML Europe 2000, Edd Dumbill surveyed the state
of XML, covering its past, its present, and its future in distributing data and applications
around the Internet.
Fooling with XUL - Part 2
Eight Greats of XML.com 1999
It has been an eventful year on XML.com. From January's XML Namespaces
recommendation through to December's XML'99 show, we've selected some of the most
interesting, controversial, and useful articles published on XML.com during the last
year.
XML.com's Year in Review
During this year we have seen the establishment of essential core technologies
and the formation of several wide-reaching XML initiatives in the business world.
We review
what has been achieved in 1999, and what must come next in 2000.
Project-Focused Forums
Specific Programming Languages
Microsoft Technologies
General Interest Forums
Which Mailing List Should You Join?
Some of the best and most up to date help on programming with XML can be found in
mailing lists and newsgroups. Our guide can help you to choose the right forum in
which to
get involved.
Apache XML Project Launches
This Tuesday saw the launch of the Apache XML Project, an effort to provide an
open source, commercial-quality platform for XML. The project has been bootstrapped
by the
contribution of tools from the open source community, and commercial vendors including
IBM
and Sun.
XHTML 1.0 Sent Back to HTML Working Group
Tim Berners-Lee has announced that the XHTML 1.0 specification, currently a
Proposed Recommendation, is to be returned to the HTML working group for further
revision.
Examining CommerceNet's eCo Framework
The eCo Framework Project from CommerceNet will provide a fundamental level of
integration and interoperability among e-commerce applications that are written for
different vertical markets. Edd Dumbill analyzes the project's two key documents:
the eCo
Semantic Recommendations and the eCo Framework Specification.
Vendor Update: IBM and Sun
Vendors IBM and Sun are both committed to XML, and have donated substantial code
to the XML community through Apache. We talked to both organizations about their plans
for
XML product support, and what they have lined up for the rest of this year.
The State of XML
In his closing keynote speech at XML Europe 2000, Edd Dumbill surveyed the state
of XML, covering its past, its present, and its future in distributing data and applications
around the Internet.
XML at Jetspeed
Jetspeed is a new open source project to create a Java and XML-based enterprise
information portal. We review the progress so far and examine the possibilities for
the
project's future.
Fooling with XUL
With the mounting excitement about Mozilla, we decided to check out the promise
of the XML, DOM, and CSS in combination with the XUL user interface language.
XTech 2000 Conference Reports
XML.com reports from XTech 2000, the XML developer's conference held from
February 26 - March 2 in San Jose, California. News from the tutorials, conference
sessions
and keynotes.
Bad Language
This week: discussions on the clarity of language in W3C specs, the neglect of
HyTime by XML standards developers, and the possibility of XML-DEV as a replacement
for
scholarly journals.
High Drama
This last week has the seen the periodic resurrection of the "How The W3C Should
Be Run" debate. XML-Deviant had a front row seat.
Making Progress
The holiday behind, XML developers are back to work. This week has seen plenty of
activity on the SAX2 front, as well as a progress update from the SML
initiative.
Wishful Thinking
XML-Deviant is a new weekly column on XML.com, providing reports from the XML
developer mailing lists. This week's happenings include wishful thinking from Peter
Murray-Rust, and a DTD for sharing recipes.
Reports from XML'99
Last week XML.com provided coverage of the GCA's XML'99 conference in
Philadelphia. Over 2,200 delegates gathered to attend tutorials, see the products
on show in
the expo and listen to the presentations.
The Key Role of Open Source in XML
Delivering the closing keynote of XML'99, Peter Murray-Rust told how XML had
"changed his life" and stressed the importance of open source software to the development
of
XML.
Taking the Pulse of the XML Community
The issues occupying the attention of attendees at XML'99 included schemas,
translating legacy data, and XML query languages.
Schemas Top Delegate Wishlist at XML'99
The W3C's Dan Connolly fielded questions from the floor in Monday morning's
Standards Update session at XML'99. The progress of the XML Schema work was important
to
many attendees from the XML community
XML'99 Coverage on XML.com
XML.com is proud to be a co-host of XML'99, running from December 5-9 in
Philadelphia. We'll be bringing you daily coverage from the show, highlighting interesting
technologies and products.
Simplified Markup Language: Your Responses
Last week we invited you to respond to Robert La Quey's article on a Simplified
Markup Language. This article presents some of your feedback, along with other excerpts
from
the continuing SML debate.
Syndicating XML
This special issue of XML.com focuses on XML's application in syndication,
including XML news formats, ICE, and syndicating web site headlines with RSS.
XML in News Syndication
XML has found many applications in the news industry for overcoming the
challenges posed by the Web. This article examines the technologies, and looks at
the future
of news syndication with XML.
XML/HTTP Messaging: Good, Getting Better
David Orchard of Jamcracker spoke about the rise of XML/HTTP messaging on the
final morning of XML DevCon 2000.
XML Europe 2000 Reports
Held from 12th-16th June in Paris, France, the XML Europe 2000 conference
demonstrated the continuing increase in innovation and application of XML. We reported
daily
from the show all week.
Getting Personal With CPExchange
On Wednesday afternoon at XML Europe 2000, Brad Husick of Vignette introduced the
work being done by the CPExchange group on XML descriptions for customer
profiles.
Quilt Has Querying Covered
Jonathan Robie of Software AG kicked off the XML Europe session on XML Query
languages Tuesday afternoon with a description of the Quilt language.
Shaken, But Not That Stirred
Although the XML Protocols Shakedown Panel at WWW9 in Amsterdam last week
clarified the positions of the various participants, the session did not result in
any clear
consensus.
XML and Portals
This month's XML.com Special Edition focuses on the role of XML in portals. XML
plays a natural part in the process of aggregation and transformation of data that
is core
to the operation of a portal.
XML Protocols
With the recent release of SOAP 1.1, XML protocols is a "hot" topic. Looking
forward to the "XML Protocols Shakedown" at the WWW9 conference next week, we examine
recent
developments, and the vital importance of XML interoperability.
XML, Standards and You
XML has been nurtured by standards organizations from its very beginning. Because
of this, XML's current use and future development is inextricably tied with the world
of
standards and standard-makers. This special edition of XML.com highlights the processes
involved in creating XML standards.
Grassroots Enforcers: The Web Standards Project
Users are frequently the ultimate losers when standards aren't respected. The Web
Standards Project is a coalition of web users and developers who got together to campaign
for adherence to standards on the Web.
Keep it Simple...
The popularity of Sean McGrath's PYX notation has highlighted the value of simple
syntax-based XML processing. Why stack layer upon layer of processing when you don't
need
it?
Pyxie Perfect
Last week's article about Pyxie fired the imagination of XML.com's readers. Now
Pyxie has Java and Perl implementations too!
Conference Sketch
This week, XML-Deviant is in San Jose for the XTech 2000
conference. Seeing XML-DEV in the flesh is a rare experience: read on for highlights
of the
XML Schema Town Hall meeting.
Cool XUL Provides Cross-Platform UI
In an afternoon session Tuesday, Eric Krock presented XUL, Mozilla's
cross-platform user interface language utilizing XML, DOM, and CSS.
"XML Father" leaves W3C for OASIS
Jon Bosak, the "Father of XML," announced to delegates at XTech 2000 today that
he is stepping down from W3C activity and devoting his energies to OASIS.
Bleeding-Edge XML: XLink and Apache
In the first of our reports from XTech 2000, we examine the XLink specification
and learn about XML web publishing from the Apache XML Project.
XTech 2000 - Real World XML
What will be happening this coming week at XTech 2000? Our introduction to the
XML developers' conference previews the tutorials, technical sessions, and other
events.
webMethods IPO Highlights Benefits Of Interoperability
webMethods' IPO success underlines the promise of application interoperability
through XML. But are vendors and standards bodies doing enough to promote XML
interoperability?
XML Inter-Application Protocols
Last week, XML.com reported on a talk by Tim O'Reilly, in which he discussed the
next-generation of web-centric applications. This week, Edd Dumbill presents a case
why XML
is already in a position to form the links between these services.
Backends Sharing Data
What if you could script remote procedure calls between web sites as easily as
you can between programs? Edd Dumbill shows how it can be done in PHP.