HTML is easy but XML is easier. XML is so simple it's
profound. With as few as three or four commands you can
script a web page in HTML, but with XML you can name your
own tags. It just doesn't get any easier than that. If
people can name their own tags they can pick words they
feel comfortable with, remembering more and managing more
complicated web page designs. XML is so simple in fact
it's doomed to be complicated.
You might have noticed companies like Microsoft jumped on
the XML bandwagon right away. Why? Because when they
define their own tags only they will have the schema and
know their definition. There won't be just a few tags,
there will be thousands and it will take thousands to get
a certification in Microsoft XMLese.
For those of you who are interested, W3schools.com has a
brilliantly straight forward course in XML. Twenty
minutes and you'll have a working knowledge. Also this
Scientific Amreica article in rare layman's terms (1999)
puts it in perspective: Scientific American: Feature
Article: XML and the Second Generation Web: May 1999 at
scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=xml-and-the-second-genera&sc=I100322.
