XML

Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a cross-platform, extensible, text-based standard for representing data. Parties that exchange XML data can create their own tags to describe the data, set up schemas to specify which tags can be used in a particular kind of XML document, and use XML style sheets to manage the display and handling of the data.

For example, a web service can use XML and a schema to produce price lists, and companies that receive the price lists and schema can have their own style sheets to handle the data in a way that best suits their needs. Here are examples.

• One company might put XML pricing information through a program to translate the XML to HTML so that it can post the price lists to its intranet.

• A partner company might put the XML pricing information through a tool to create a marketing presentation.

• Another company might read the XML pricing information into an application for processing.