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Creating other markup languagesBog'liq Ceponkus, Hoodbhoy - Applied XML - Toolkit for ProgrammersCreating other markup languages.
XML is not just another markup language. You
could say it is trying to be the mother of all languages by creating a standard method for
describing your information. That being true, nothing is stopping you from creating
information to further describe more information (that is, a language). If you think about it,
one day HTML could be an application of XML! Other examples of markup languages
that are XML applications include CML
(Chemical Markup Language, which is used by members of the scientific community),
CDF (Channel Definition Format, used in push technology applications), and OFX
(Open Financial Exchange, an initiative launched by several companies to standardize
information exchange in the financial sector).
Online banking.
Most banks are moving in this direction. Although the security protocols
and requirements are more stringent than other applications, XML is flexible enough to
be used to enable these applications.
Push technology.
This is one of those buzzwords from not too long ago. It is also
known as
webcasting
. Push technology refers to the idea of the user indicating general
areas of interest that he or she would like information about from a particular server. The
server then detects the request and sends the user periodic (or on demand) updates to
any related information. This information is then downloaded to the user’s cache and is
available for offline browsing. For example, in the PointCast browser, we simply indicate
the areas of interest we’d like to read about, and the server then “pushes” that
information to us periodically and stores it on the local cache. We can then browse
through the information at our own pace. Figure 1.2 shows how the PointCast browser
lets users customize the topics in which they are interested. An application of XML known
as the Channel Definition Format (CDF) is used to richly encode the information sent to
and from the client. Similar and grander applications of push technology will be
engendered by XML.
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