Re: [xml-dev] XML's place in the world

[Peter Hunsberger <peter.hunsberger@gmail.com>]

On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 8:36 AM, Simon St.Laurent <simonstl@simonstl.com> wrote:
> [I wrote this bit as part of a NoSQL conversation at O'Reilly, but think it
> might be interesting, or at least provocative, in a broader XML context. Any
> thoughts?]
>
> My general sense - and this doubtless has a lot of confirmation bias
> to it - is that XML is retreating to the document-based home territory
> where it made the most sense anyway.  JSON is easing it off the Web.
> RDF and just plain APIs make a lot more sense for graph-centric
> data.
>
> XML will continue for interchange and in places where tree
> structures work and the overhead isn't too bad, but the "XML
> Everywhere" vision is retreating.
>

The one place I still see a need for such types of XML is when you're
doing cross domain integration and signatures, encryption,
authentication, etc. become part of the exchange process.  JSON
doesn't seem to have all the pieces lined up to push XML (SOAP or
otherwise) out of this space (yet)?

> In the long run, I think that's better for both the world and XML,
> though maybe not for XQuery.
>

There's a lot of capability that has been built around XML that still
needs to be replicated in the other spaces so I think it would be
premature to declare any kind of overwhelming trend.  At this point I
perceive what is going on as more as people reacting to the flaws in
the current XML world and testing out alternate strategies to see if
they do any better.  Whether these alternate strategies will, in the
long run, grow to have as many capabilities (and flaws) as XML remains
to be seen?

--
Peter Hunsberger



-- 
Peter Hunsberger