Advantages of XML
The following features of XML make it well suited for the corporate DNS:
- XML is international. XML is based on Unicode. Unicode allows for a larger amount of storage space for each character, which in turn makes it possible for Unicode to include characters for foreign alphabets. SGML and HTML are based on ASCII, which does not work well with many foreign languages.
- XML can be structured. Using DTDs, XML can be structured so that both the content and syntax can be easily validated. This enhanced structure will enable you to create standardized valid XML documents.
- XML documents can be built using composition. Using the more powerful linking methods of XML, documents can be created from a composite of other documents. This enhanced linking system will enable you to create customized documents by selecting only the pieces of other documents you need.
- XML can be a data container. XML is ideally suited to be a container for data. Using DTDs, you can efficiently represent almost any data so that it can be read by humans, computer parsers, and applications.
- XML offers flexibility. XML allows you either to not use a DTD (a default one will be used) or to define the structure of your document to the smallest detail using a DTD. With a DTD, you can define the exact structure of your document so that both the structure of the data and the content can be easily validated.
- XML is easy to use. XML is only slightly more complicated than HTML. As more browsers support XML and more tools are available for working with XML, it is likely that more developers will take advantage of XML.
- XML has standard formats. Standard formats for XML documents can be easily produced.
With these advantages, XML can be used to cater to the more complex corporate needs.