XML moves to the mainstream

Over the past few years, the markup language derived from SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) has gained a lot of ground in high-end information-management applications. Lately, XML has also become an industry buzzword, a must-have feature for anybody working in modern content-processing applications.

While XML has been the backbone for high-end applications for some time, the market for shrink-wrapped XML products is also starting to take off.

Quark Inc. just shipped avenue.quark, its XML import/export extension for QuarkXPress. Meanwhile, Adobe Systems Inc. has released FrameMaker 6.0, which exports (but doesn't import) XML and has announced XML support for the next version of Golive, to name just a few examples.

As for Microsoft Corp., the company's recently announced .Net strategy for Internet-based services is also based on XML.

Is there a low-end XML market? What strategies should software developers use to jump on the XML bandwagon? Will XML simply stay a data format, or is there an emerging market for XML applications?

There's no quick and easy answer to these questions. XML is a very powerful tool, and it has proven over and over that as far as data interchange goes, it has a lot to offer.

In recent years, XML has become the de facto standard for high-end content and asset management. Therefore, it's not surprising that more and more software developers are flocking to support it.

We are currently going through a trend of media consolidation, both on the corporate level and as far as end users are concerned. High-end applications are increasingly required to support XML. But where is the low end of the market going?

And for developers, is there room for an XML killer app?

Quark is giving the market a shot with avenue.quark, which will also be part of XPress 5.0. avenue.quark is an extension for XML import and export that angles for high-end integration of XPress-based content with XML-based Web-authoring systems such Vignette Story Server.

It is also a showcase application to demonstrate that Quark is moving full steam into cross-media publishing. It will be interesting to observe whether avenue.quark will build a user base outside its captive audience, namely high-end Web content managers who need to integrate XPress-based content with their data-serving applications on the Web.

For the main publishing market to move seriously to XML-based data structures, it will be necessary to re-engineer the applications and proprietary data structures extensively. This won't happen overnight. For example, while avenue.quark will outfit XPress 5 with XML import and export, there's little to indicate that the XPress file format will be rewritten to move closer to XML-based structures.

As for Adobe, the company's official position on XML is not very clear yet either, despite its moves to embrace established standards.

For software developers, it is important to assess how much XML support and development will be needed in order to stay ahead of the market. And that in turn will depend on whether XML data structures can move beyond the realm in which they have acquired standard status.

Does the end user need XML? More importantly, does the end user think he needs XML? Market perception can be as important as genuine need for a an emerging technology.

Interestingly, XML reverses the common pattern of technology adoption that has driven much of the high-tech market. Practically all tools that have gained predominant market position have evolved from the ground up, starting their careers as end-user applications and then becoming increasingly professional. If XML moves beyond vertical, high-end applications, its progress will represent the inverse of that standard operating procedure.

In the end, whether or not the markup language becomes pervasive beyond the high end of content management will also depend on software developers.

Right now, there is a consensus that XML is complex and needs specially trained operators. Nevertheless, PostScript drawing packages and other applications have demonstrated that it is indeed possible to make complex, programming-based processes reasonably simple to use.

XML is today where PostScript was before the arrival of Adobe Illustrator: a programming language that could be manipulated through a number of specialized utilities -- but did not really have much end-user functionality.

For XML to become as much a standard as Adobe's page-description language will require strong development efforts as well as broad end-user interest and education, which only happens when products move into the highly competitive realm of shrink-wrapped software.

The market is not there yet, but XML is not going away. We are living in a world where non proprietary data-structures have become essential to an increasing number of users. What really remains to be seen is which of the industry players will be capable of capturing and focusing this growing market interest with an XML killer app.

Andreas Pfeiffer is an industry analyst and editor in chief of the Pfeiffer Report on Emerging Trends and Technologies.

What is happening with Extensible Markup Language?

Over the past few years, the markup language derived from SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) has gained a lot of ground in high-end information-management applications. Lately, XML has also become an industry buzzword, a must-have feature for anybody working in modern content-processing applications.

While XML has been the backbone for high-end applications for some time, the market for shrink-wrapped XML products is also starting to take off.

Quark Inc. just shipped avenue.quark, its XML import/export extension for QuarkXPress. Meanwhile, Adobe Systems Inc. has released FrameMaker 6.0, which exports (but doesn't import) XML and has announced XML support for the next version of Golive, to name just a few examples.

As for Microsoft Corp., the company's recently announced .Net strategy for Internet-based services is also based on XML.

Is there a low-end XML market? What strategies should software developers use to jump on the XML bandwagon? Will XML simply stay a data format, or is there an emerging market for XML applications?

There's no quick and easy answer to these questions. XML is a very powerful tool, and it has proven over and over that as far as data interchange goes, it has a lot to offer.

In recent years, XML has become the de facto standard for high-end content and asset management. Therefore, it's not surprising that more and more software developers are flocking to support it.

We are currently going through a trend of media consolidation, both on the corporate level and as far as end users are concerned. High-end applications are increasingly required to support XML. But where is the low end of the market going?

And for developers, is there room for an XML killer app?

Quark is giving the market a shot with avenue.quark, which will also be part of XPress 5.0. avenue.quark is an extension for XML import and export that angles for high-end integration of XPress-based content with XML-based Web-authoring systems such Vignette Story Server.

It is also a showcase application to demonstrate that Quark is moving full steam into cross-media publishing. It will be interesting to observe whether avenue.quark will build a user base outside its captive audience, namely high-end Web content managers who need to integrate XPress-based content with their data-serving applications on the Web.

For the main publishing market to move seriously to XML-based data structures, it will be necessary to re-engineer the applications and proprietary data structures extensively. This won't happen overnight. For example, while avenue.quark will outfit XPress 5 with XML import and export, there's little to indicate that the XPress file format will be rewritten to move closer to XML-based structures.

As for Adobe, the company's official position on XML is not very clear yet either, despite its moves to embrace established standards.

For software developers, it is important to assess how much XML support and development will be needed in order to stay ahead of the market. And that in turn will depend on whether XML data structures can move beyond the realm in which they have acquired standard status.

Does the end user need XML? More importantly, does the end user think he needs XML? Market perception can be as important as genuine need for a an emerging technology.

Interestingly, XML reverses the common pattern of technology adoption that has driven much of the high-tech market. Practically all tools that have gained predominant market position have evolved from the ground up, starting their careers as end-user applications and then becoming increasingly professional. If XML moves beyond vertical, high-end applications, its progress will represent the inverse of that standard operating procedure.

In the end, whether or not the markup language becomes pervasive beyond the high end of content management will also depend on software developers.

Right now, there is a consensus that XML is complex and needs specially trained operators. Nevertheless, PostScript drawing packages and other applications have demonstrated that it is indeed possible to make complex, programming-based processes reasonably simple to use.

XML is today where PostScript was before the arrival of Adobe Illustrator: a programming language that could be manipulated through a number of specialized utilities -- but did not really have much end-user functionality.

For XML to become as much a standard as Adobe's page-description language will require strong development efforts as well as broad end-user interest and education, which only happens when products move into the highly competitive realm of shrink-wrapped software.

The market is not there yet, but XML is not going away. We are living in a world where non proprietary data-structures have become essential to an increasing number of users. What really remains to be seen is which of the industry players will be capable of capturing and focusing this growing market interest with an XML killer app.

Andreas Pfeiffer is an industry analyst and editor in chief of the Pfeiffer Report on Emerging Trends and Technologies.