XML - What's in the future of XML? We're guessing...

2017-06-06

The future of XML is still unclear because of conflicting views of XML users. Some say that the future is bright and holds promise. While others say that it is time to take a break from the continuous increase in the volume of specifications.

In the past five years, there have been substantial accomplishments in XML. XML has made it possible to manage large quantities of information which don't fit in relational database tables, and to share labeled structured information without sharing a common Application Program Interface (API). XML has also simplified information exchange across language barriers.

But as a result of these accomplishments, XML is no longer simple. It now consists of a growing collection of complex connected and disconnected specifications. As a result , usability has suffered. This is because it takes longer to develop XML tools. These users are now rooting for something simpler. They argue that even though specifications have increased, there is no clear improvement in quality. They think in might be better to let things be, or even to look for alternate approaches beyond XML. This will make XML easier to use in the future. Otherwise it will cause instability with further increase in specifications.

The other side paints a completely different picture. They are ready for further progress in XML. There have been discussions for a new version, XML 2.0. This version has been proposed to contain the following characteristics:

§ Elimination of DTDS
§ Integration of namespace
§ XML Base and XML Information Set into the base standard

Research is also being carried out into the properties and use cases for binary encoding of the XML information set.

Future of XML Applications

The future of XML application lies with the Web and Web Publishing. Web applications are no longer traditional. Browsers are now integrating games, word processors and more. XML is based in Web Publishing, so the future of XML is seen to grow as well.