For decades, software developers had to struggle with getting computers to talk to each other. Businesses developed systems to do different things at different times on different hardware, and integrating the data was rarely on peoples priority lists. Customers would tell the bank about changing their address and still get mail about their mortgage sent to an old address because the mortgage system had it’s own address file.
Then came XML. A standardised way of exchanging information, with formal standards for different types of application. For example: FIXML – Financial Information Exchange and BEERXML – Brewing information. There is a list here. There are about a thousand of them.
XML is human-readable and similar to well-know HTML so easy to use if a little long-winded.
Well, I am glad that is done and dusted. A major problem for IT systems has been solved. Then came another standard.
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Bob Browning's blog 