1998: My first major on-line application was an XML-based graphic arts portfolio viewer. People seem to be interested in artwork created with a particular package such as 3DS MAX, Photoshop, etc. One alternative is to create a database on the server and allow viewers to search for images by keyword. I was curious if something similar could be accomplished on the client side to avoid repeated queries to the server. Such capability would be especially useful for viewers who simply wanted to scroll back and forth between descriptions of Photoshop images.

“It was trivial to describe the portfolio in XML. Using XMLDSO and DHTML, I achieved the desired interactivity with only one hit to the server to parse the XML file.

1999: “The XML portfolio viewer debuted in late November 1998. It was originally placed in an experimental ‘concept’ area of the 2112 F/X site. It was a pure technology presentation with a plain white background and no polish. Now, the XML viewer is more popular than the traditional portfolio presentation! That’s good name recognition for XML, but it means I must go back and make the viewer ‘look’ reasonable. I also need to create a new structure for the XML file to accomodate interest in rich media, not just stills.”

1998: “Another project was an extension of a DHTML application that generates JavaScript/DHTML from C++ to perform sparse matrix visualization. A C++ class library gathered data and generated DHTML and JavaScript ‘on the fly.’ Adding XML formatting to the matrix data allowed for easier collation and display of matrix nonzero structure. It is somewhat interesting to know that a nonzero exists at a particular cell in a matrix. It is very interesting to answer the question, ‘why is that nonzero at that location?’

1999: “I still believe that ‘smart’ online displays could benefit from XML. When I visit a traditional store and converse with someone, that person has a fixed amount of knowledge about a product. If I visit an online store, I should be able to interact with the site and extract the same information without placing added strain on the server. A small XML file could contain information regarding Flash demos, detailed product descriptions, QuickTime VR or similar presentations, FAQ lists, cross-sell, sell-up, and related information. DHTML could be used to interactively allow me to zero in on exactly the information I need to make a decision.”

1999: “That’s another emerging application?the area of interactive educational games. I am working on several DHTML games that present multiple choice questions to a player.

“An area of interest is how to present multiple question sets and strategies to the player without a lot of server interaction. The end user will be an educational institution with lots of potential users, but limited funds for servers.

“It would be fun to write a client-side application that loads a question/answer set dynamically from an XML file. Handling dynamic game attributes on the client side frees the institution from having to create and maintain a server-side database. It also provides a simple, uniform mechanism for describing Q/A sets and strategies.”

“I chose to write the paper to move towards an advanced degree with a Canadian University (Lakehead University in Ontario), but the reason I chose XML is because I would be able to use the knowledge with my company, Sundial. I reasoned that I would eventually have to learn XML to continue with web development, so why not learn and get a credit!

“The XML paper is about the history of the web, leading up to the need for XML, and it covers a brief tutorial on how to learn to program in XML. I’ve tried to write the paper so that I could learn from it, if I were to run across it on the web.”

“As a Web developer, I can see XML reaching the same and greater level of popularity as HTML, with many more uses. To me, XML makes sense. it makes sense in a way that HTML does not. I feel as though we’re all just using HTML because it’s there, not because it’s really doing what we want it to do. Now, with XML, the learning curve is slightly higher, but the uses far outweigh this curve.”

“I consider HTML to be like duct tape and now we finally have the tools do do what we’ve been trying to piece together with HTML. It’s (XML) revolutionary and as soon as people realize that, it will spread like wildfire.”

“It sounds to me as though these developers are forgetting the early days of HTML, or heck, even Java! With any new language, we are going to have a brief period of time where the development tools aren’t there. It’s going to be our support of the language that makes it profitable for companies to develop the software we need. And there are already a few useful tools on the market. Everything is in it’s early stages, of course, but developing quickly. XML makes too much sense and is too useful for us not to move forward. ”

“The toughest thing is explaining why we should redevelop a site or spend additional time creating a site with XML. A lot of companies are satisfied with HTML and so why spend the extra money?

“The angle I’ll be taking is that it’s a case of building the house with duct tape or building it with nails and screws. It’ll last longer and you’ll be happier with the final product.”

“The advantages of XML are multiple, but basically, XML allows us to identify data and the contents of a page, as opposed to blindly using HTML to layout the page without specifying what it’s contents are. Sure, we’ve had meta-tags and such, but we all know how true the contents of meta-tags can be sometimes, don’t we!

“But this is not to say that XML is going to be here in the next two months, it’s going to take a while for people to get their heads around the benefits of XML. The biggest problem is that it has to be easy to develop with, and XSL has to be pushed right alongside of XML or else there is that nasty question of “yeah, but what can be done with it?

“My company has several publication clients and I can see us eventually using XML to handle the updating, archiving and searching of those sites. We will, in a sense, finally be putting things into the right file folder in the digital cabinet, instead of in a pile on the floor. It will be quite refreshing! Of course, this process with take time and money, but it will slowly be done.”

“XML Pro. I’ve found that’s it’s a great beginner’s tool and can really help you stick to valid documents, which is one thing that an HTML coder needs!”

“We develop custom ActiveX controls that can be embedded in standalone applications or in a Web page. They are display surfaces that allow us to really push the envelope in terms of the user experience. For example, we are currently working on a project in which a user can manipulate mathematical equations in conjunction with an animated instructor character.

“We use custom XML tagsets to let our client author just about everything, from annotated text and equations, to user task information and agent scripting information.

“Our use of XML is a little unorthodox, in that we have chosen to compile the XML at author-time, in much the same way that one compiles a C++ program. We do this for performance — our runtime needs to handle huge amounts of XML, and ultimately this data has to be translated to compact structures such as C++ objects and predicates. The overhead of parsing an XML file to thousands of running COM objects (one per XML element) is just too great for us to use the browser’s built-in parser and Document Object Model.

“Compiled binary streams, on the other hand, can be rapidly loaded and acted on by a small and fast runtime. We also do it for authorability. XML seems quite authorable in theory, but it quickly becomes very tedious with needless nesting. The compilation step allows us to do more parsing. For example, our client can write a mathematical equation as “3*X^2 + 2*x-1= 0,” rather than 20 lines of nested elements.

“We needed a language in which to efficiently express very complex structure.

We knew the language would have to evolve over time.

“We knew that XML, because of its extensibility, was bound to become very widely adopted.

“Even though we are not overly concerned about interoperability for now, we want to be able to offer support for any useful namespaces and standards that evolve.”

“We use the standard Microsoft Developer Studio editor, together with our own custom-developed compilers and a linker.”

“I would like to see a syntax coloring and background validation for XML in my editor. I look forward to using an XSL processor if for no other reason than as a sophisticated author-time transformation tool. There is nothing worse than changing the schema and having to revisit large quantities of XML!”

“I certainly agree with those who evangelize XML as an interchange format, for file formats, EDI-(Electronic Data Interchange) type applications, etc. XML will no doubt be an important part of an emerging type of next-generation distributed ‘web-apps.’

“Sites intent on raw visual appeal will continue to use WYSIWIG editors, but XML in combination with XSL is really exciting for larger sites that have a lot of semi-structured information. An investment in separating content from presentation will pay for itself by making data easier to author and maintain while allowing the presentation to be independently adapted to by different audiences by designers.”

We released our support for XML in December, 1997, when we started shipping ADEPT 7. ADEPT 8, the current release, supports both XML and SGML in a native way.

Our target audience is medium and large companies and organizations. Our target users include anyone engaged in formal documentation processes, whether the output is technical manuals, reference books, functional requirements, design specifications, product catalogs, part lists or legal contracts.

Although we’re not aiming at Web publishers, we do have customers whose only target medium is the Web. What distinguishes our customers from other Web publishers is that ours have formal, defined processes that pump through large amounts of information.

We’re looking forward to the planned improvements in editing tools, content/document management systems and browsers, but there’s no need to wait–you can get started (with XML) today.

We think XML will become a universal medium of information exchange for almost any type of data, whether it’s document information or database information. We also think that XML will play a key role in the burgeoning knowledge management market, since it has the unique capability to capture formerly implicit information in an explicit way.

XML schemas represent the objects, and their properties and relationships for an XML application. The schema identifies the components and provides the rules by which XML documents are created, validated and processed. Consider XML schemas as the grammar for a customized Internet ready vocabulary.

Document type definitions (DTD’s) were derived from SGML and are a component of the XML 1.0 specification. Early on it was clear that DTD’s lacked descriptive capabilities, such as data-typing and inheritance that would enable broader implementation of XML.

I wouldn’t say worry, rather embrace. Most serious Web designers will want to define the rules for their XML applications. They are in driver’s seat.

XML schemas provide Web designers a framework to build sophisticated web based applications. Often, these applications will tap existing information systems. We see diverse groups collaborating on schema design and management. Web designers, database programmers and structured document people are coming together with XML. XML schemas enable them to codify a common set of rules to work together.

Remember, XML is extensible. Extensibility enables creativity. XML schemas simply enable the creator to codify creativity. Consider that schemas themselves may reflect varying levels of flexibility and you realize that XML schemas represent a framwork for creativity.

Great question. No doubt many XML documents will be processed as well-formed documents. Occassionally, you read “well-formed or valid XML”. We see the need for both. The answer becomes evident when you consider the design, testing and production phases of XML development lifecycles.

The design of an XML schema represents a great starting place in the lifecycle of an XML application. With the components and the rules of an XML application identified, the development lifecycle is accelerated. Moreover, the schema can be shared and reused by others providing the basis for standardization.

As the application is being tested, the schema provides the basis for the test. This gives Web designers a safety net in their XML implementation.

Finally, the need to validate content and process on the Internet is intensifying. We see the trend for more online validation versus less. This is especially the case as ecommerce applications proliferate the Internet. Corporations will want to exchange schemas to facilitate secure transactions.

Early on, it was clear to us that XML would be huge. It’s ability to provide common ground for accessing and processing diverse forms of content is awesome. At once, it provides Web applications the flexibility and structure lacking today.

We see XML schemas as providing the rules of engagement for the new initiative of Web solutions. Our tools empower Internet programmers to make the move from where they are to where they need to go.

XML is enabling the next generation of Internet applications to exist. This includes e-commerce solutions and weblications. Serious XML initiatives require schemas. Who can wait? Few businesses are willing to miss what XML brings to ecommerce.

When we built XML Authority we knew there would be uncertainty regarding an advanced schema syntax for some time and wanted to reduce the risk of deployment. That’s why XML Authority provides syntax output for all of the potential schema standards including DTD’s, XML-Data (IE-5 level), XSDL, DCD’s and DDML. Our users are getting an edge without the risk.

It’s off to an energizing start, it’s going to make an impact on the Web but it remains to be seen how long it’ll take to catch on.

That depends on what people ultimately want to use XML for; what the problem is that needs solving. There are a number of possible applications of XML, and they each need different types of servers/tools to help you realize a total solution. And yes, Dreamweaver’s capabilities just play one part in the production.

We’ve always consulted a group of folks that span the gamut of HTML authoring and used their input to create each version of Dreamweaver. Some of these are hard-core folks who were jumping on CSS just as it got out of the gate, and are now doing the same with XML.

When the day is done, a number of our customers want to play with the future of the Web – learn new tricks that’ll make their pages come more alive tomorrow. That’s why we try to add some forward-looking features like CSS over a year ago, and XML today.

Our support revolves round-trip XML. Dreamweaver 2 allows you to open an XML file, it allows custom property inspectors, and has an XML character set which you can add to or change…it needed to be extensible, since in XML there are an arbitrary number of tags. It also gives you the ability to author XML, as well as XML parsing capability.

XML is all about separating design from content, and since Dream Templates (templates in Dreamweaver that allow only new content to be edited) separate design from content, information from templates can be exported as XML. XML content can also be imported into Dreamweaver templates.

Ahhh, my chance at greatness if I predict the future! The hard-liners say that XML will replace HTML. While it’s possible, there’s a ways to go before that’s a reality.

XML inside of HTML isn’t yet a real standard, but it may be a more conservative approach — make certain parts of the page more digestible for machines, while maintaining backward compatibility with the current infrastructure.

I suppose it’s possible for folks to just ignore XML, but I don’t think that’ll happen — XML is a fine format for storing data in an open fashion which is why we use it in several Dreamweaver configuration files.

My iron clad prediction: whatever path XML takes as it grows, develops, and finds its way into designers toolkits, if designers seriously want to use it to create webpages, Macromedia and Dreamweaver will support it. Our business is helping creative people spend less time doing drudge work, and more time creating. Everyone here agrees that listening to our customers and adding the features they ask for is the best way to achieve that.

We believe that XML will do for data what HTML did with Web pages.

Yes, and very soon. I believe people are going to want what you can get from XML–the way of exchanging information–and I think it will certainly catch on…it is important for people to actually see an XML document as well, sometimes, and IE 5.0 allows people to view an XML document. So in the very near future we’ll be seeing a real growth in real world XML applications.

Why not? We never intended to sell Notepad. It’s a tool we were using and decided to release it externally…it’s a way to increase the public understanding of XML, to help programmers and developers use XML. It’s a simple program. We wanted to make people aware of XML, and to have access to playing with XML documents…

IE 5.0 beta 2 [ed note: IE 5.0 is now a shipping product] has significant new functionality for XML. You can view XML, there’s a good deal of XSL support, you can perform queries, there’s CSS and DOM support…it’s good for developers to be able to see and play with XML and IE 5.0 lets this happen. Visual Studio is also planning for XML functionality.