Re: Use of XML ?

[David Brownell <david-b@pacbell.net>]

>     XML comes into play when you want the transport format to be
> independent of the internal details of how the data is processed.
> By adding an extra layer of abstraction, you decouple the 
> exchange process from the internal implementation details.

In all fairness, that isn't specific to XML.  That's where CORBA
started, for one example, and things like ONC-RPC.  That type
of decoupling is inherent in decent network protocol designs.
(From which I exclude Java RMI, and similar systems designed
around implementations, not protocols.)

The obvious difference with XML is adopting text for the message
format, so that programming environments that don't work well
with binary data can fit into XML messaging systems.

- Dave