Re: [xml-dev] XML vs JSON

["Ghislain Fourny" <gfourny@inf.ethz.ch>]

Hi Thomas,

> On 19 Aug 2017, at 00:57, Thomas Passin <list1@tompassin.net> wrote:
> 
>> Unless the purpose is broadened to: tree-structured information.
> 
> Don't be stingy... XML can represent graphs too.
> 

I agree with this statement, but I would add that it is very important to distinguish between the core data models of XML (infoset, PSVI, XDM) and other data models it is able to support indirectly.

XML primarily -- natively -- has a tree-based data model.

It can store graphs, but doing so requires an extra data model such as RDF or XBRL linkbases (which massively use XLink), and such data models are not specifically bound or restricted to XML syntax.

Just as importantly, XML can also store tables (flat records), and cubes (also see XBRL).

Likewise, relational tables can store trees -- there are several ways to do so, even one that stores a tree in a single table [1] -- or graphs (three-column tables) even though their primary model is the relational model.

This is why looking at data with data model glasses matter so much.

Kind regards,
Ghislain

[1] http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1316713