Rob writes:

> First, let me point out that I *am* an XML zealot, but I hope you'll listen
>  to what I have to say anyway :).

>  Personally I would use XML for almost any data I store outside a database
>  (including configuration files, etc.).  Why?  Because it's a standard.  You
>  get all the "standard" (*smirk*) benefits:

Let me say that I'm certainly not opposed to XML, but as an objective,
disinterested non-user, I would say that the greatest benefit of XML is as an
educational tool, in demonstrating the value of creating tagged file formats,
and only secondarily as a practical tool.

In the end, when you define XML tags, you're creating a highly specialized
file format that can be read by only you and your specific cohorts -- and
that's a greatly different process than having to conform to a "true"
standard, such as HTML, for example. Under HTML, you're writing data
structures to a predefined, fixed (and fundamentally immutable) code
interpreter. It's you who are adapting to and obeying a set of highly
constrained predefined command structures.

In contrast, in XML, you're just making your own stuff up -- and that's why
it's very hard to call it a "standard." If anything, it's more of standard
layout protocol. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with that, but my
original contention stands: for most applications, it's overkill. A simpler,
even more application-specific tagged file format would probably be easier to
work with and much more efficient to process.

The great trick when devising in your own tagged file formats is being able
to see far enough into the future to make all subsequent necessary
evolutionary modifications to your file format simple and easy -- and paying
attention to how XML is constructed is of some real value for that.

Wirt Atmar

PS: BTW, in the telnet address phonebook example:

>             TelNetAddr1 = 192.168.1.1
>             TelNetAddr2 = 209.181.113.217
>             TelNetAddr3 =
>             TelNetAddr4 =
>             TelNetAddr5 =

each line is essentially a "line break". Each line is being loaded into a
Windows pick list, in order, by number. The number of the slot represents the
frequency of usage, with the number one entry being the last that you used.
Nonetheless, the scheme shown above could just as easily be meant to
represent the lines on a order header.