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The effect that XML is likely to have on browser technology in the long term may be to
increase client dependency on the browser—the browser could start housing more and
more applications. Eventually, full-blown applications may be run out of your browser.
Imagine using your browser as a word processor or for spreadsheet analysis that can
analyze data acquired from anywhere on the Web. XML could have a very positive
reaction on the browser market. Some experts call this the birth of “OS agnostic
machines.”
Alternatively, because an XML stream is universally parseable, it is possible that you
could just as easily bypass the browser altogether and create your own standalone
application without the overhead of a browser. If you want to use XML as an instruction
media for your remote home lighting system, does it really have to be tied to a browser?
For high-level programming languages like Java, XML is a boon. As some executives
say, “XML gives Java something to do.” Using XML as the standard format for
exchanging information, programs written in these languages can easily exchange
information with one another.
For the makers of database engines, it is a blessing because it removes much of the
standards wars involved in exchanging information between different systems and making
it available on the Web. Of course, it does mean that they will still have to agree on
universal DTDs, but it is certainly a major step in the right direction.
Summary
What it all boils down to is this: XML is a universal format for exchanging information
between software components that is legible to both computers and human beings. XML
creates a lingua franca for the computer world that has been missing for the longest time.
To illustrate how truly significant this is, imagine a world in which everyone could speak the
same language and at the same time, maintain their societal customs, norms, and values.
Imagine the tremendous potential for world peace and global prosperity that would be
engendered by a universal language and a ubiquitous communication structure. Since
everyone could communicate with one another, the sum total of human research would
become immediately accessible. War would become redundant. Okay, call us idealists, but
we believe that if everyone could communicate with one another perfectly, we’d have no
conflicts and live in a world of global prosperity and happiness for all. That being true, XML
is the closest thing we can see as being the tool for engendering utopia among computer
users.
