Glossary
What is XML (eXtensible Markup Language)?
XML is a markup language that structures and stores data in a human-readable, machine-parseable format. Unlike HTML, which defines how data is displayed, XML defines what the data means. XML uses custom tags to describe data structure.
XML is fundamental to web standards and data exchange, though JSON has become the modern default for API data exchange.
- Data Exchange: XML is widely used for data exchange between systems. For example, payment processors, shipping companies, and advertising platforms use XML APIs for data exchange.
- Configuration: Many applications use XML files for configuration. Maven (Java build tool) and other tools use XML-based config files.
- Sitemaps & Feeds: XML Sitemaps and RSS feeds are XML-based formats. Sitemaps help search engines discover website pages; RSS feeds enable content syndication.
Example from Flowtrix Projects
For an e-commerce company integrating with multiple suppliers via API, XML was the primary data exchange format. We built XML parsers to ingest supplier inventory and pricing feeds, and XML serializers to send order data to suppliers. XML's structured, self-describing format made data exchange reliable and maintainable.
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