By Madhu Siddalingaiah
|
XML Still Going Strong
|
IDEAlliance's XML 2005 Conference Featured a Strong Technical Program
XML has become ubiquitous, but progress continues in many areas. Web services and service-oriented architecture (SOA) adoption are capturing
much of the mindshare, but other, more diverse areas continue to grow the XML landscape. The the IDEAlliance XML 200x conferences are the longest-running XML event. With 600 attendees, XML 2005
marked a decline in attendance from previous events, but the quality of the presentations and topics has not diminished.
In his keynote aptly titled "Everyone's using XML, but does anyone care?", SAX API developer and Java legend David Megginson presented his outlook for XML's future.
Megginson argued that XML has become so ubiquitous, that we need not think about it as a distinct technology. "XML is the new ASCII" says Megginson. He believes that the
two areas that will continue to receive attention are query and services.
Miko Matsumura is VP of Technology Standards at Infravio, a venture capitalist and former Java evangelist. He believes we are on the brink of a new breed of applications. These applications, based on humanistic
computing, take advantage of human behavior. They don't replicate old computing models on new platforms, but address concerns of social groupings, such as corporate
politics, regulation, and other human interactions. XML will play a big role in these applications since information description and exchange using open protocols are
critical to interoperability.
Core concerns for efficient encoding of XML was the subject of debate in a lively panel discussion. Although human readable text encoding is the most widely-used format for XML,
bandwidth and space constrained applications can benefit from compact, binary formats. Visionaries from heavyweights such as Microsoft, Sun, IBM, Oracle, along with
startup AgileDelta had much to say on this topic. Panel members included Michael Champion (Microsoft), John Schneider (AgileDelta), David A. Lee (Epocrates), Michael
Leventhal (Tarari), Dr. Santiago Pericas-Geertsen (Sun Microsystems), Dr. Eric Perkins (IBM Corporation) and Eric Sedlar (Oracle Corporation). There was wide agreement that there is no simple solution that solves all problems, but standards are certain to
develop in the near future.
The show floor included only a handful of vendors, but their XML commitment was clear. Second generation XML tools were abundant, which will likely empower non-technical
users. Adobe demonstrated a suite of powerful tools aimed at customers of all sizes for document creation,
management, and presentation. The tools included high quality, polished user interfaces with easy to use, drag and drop capabilities. Business analysts could easily
generate forms, capture data, and interoperate with enterprise applications with no knowledge that XML was behind the scenes. This was a clear sign that XML has matured
and now well established in the mainstream.
Resources
AgileDelta
http://www.agiledelta.com/
IDEAlliance
http://www.idealliance.org/
Infravio
http://www.infravio.com
Contributing editor Madhu Siddalingaiah is a consultant focusing on
modern technologies such as wireless, embedded and enterprise systems. He helps
organizations reach new markets and reduce costs through strategic use of
information technology. Madhu has worked with a number of high-profile clients
in many industries including health care, energy, aerospace, defense, and high
energy physics.
Madhu has authored several books, the latest titled "XML and
Web Services Unleashed". He is a popular presenter at technology conferences all
over the world.
