[Classiccity-pm] Re: Classiccity-pm Digest, Vol 8, Issue 8

[Jonathan Daugherty]

# Seems to me most XML documents could be replaced with the passing of a
# string or a text file.

I see this sort of response a lot ... and I'd like to think that we
could revert to simpler methods of data layout.  But stuff like XML
evolves from a desire to find a better way to convey complicated /
structured data in a way that isn't married to a specific type of
program or even a specific set of data types.  I don't think XML
hits the nail on the head in some ways, but it can be better -- at
least conceptually -- than a plain text file with various flaky
syntax rules like tabs, spaces, and newlines.  I opt for the Text
File Way in some situations but I think XML, if for no other use than
as a starting point, can be a good way to represent certain types of
data.

-- 

  Jonathan Daugherty
  http://www.cprogrammer.org

  "It's a book about a Spanish guy called Manual, you should read it."
                                                            -- Dilbert