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Despite the meteoric growth of e-commerce applications, Web-based
business will never be entirely successful until it is based on
industry-strength technologies. HTML, in particular, is already posing
significant problems: its inherent rigidity and lack of structure is
creating a major maintenance problem, and it is a safe prediction that
many e-commerce applications will fail as a result.
The solution is XML (eXtensible Markup Language), a standard that has
been developed specifically to address today's Web management issues. XML
is now being taken up in key products from IBM, Microsoft, and other
leading e-commerce providers; and high-profile Web applcations, such as
Dell's on-line ordering system, have been redeveloped in the language.
XML is designed to bring structure to textual documents of all kinds.
Formatting data for EDI and e-commerce is only one application. XML will
encourage a whole new generation of document systems, with structured
documents replacing the unstructured, linear files created by word
processors. Documents will be created with content and style separated,
supporting multiple authors, document linking, and content searching. The
latter is essential for information systems, particularly on the Web, to
combat the 'information overload' from which we already suffer.
This Xephon Consultancy Report provides an full evaluation of the
benefits of using XML, considers its future directions, and analyses the
technical implications of the language.
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