XML on the wane? Say it isn't so, Jack

Jack Vaughan has got things all abuzz with a recent post that ponders whether XML's best days are behind it.

Is the 'X' in Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) fading?

With the growing popularity of Rich Internet Applications an enterprise mashups, it's conceivable that we may see less and less XML, Jack speculates. "Like Pick or Fortran or other once-popular languages, it is conceivable that XML’s use will at some point decline."

For example, he quotes Yahoo Architect and JSON originator Doug Crockford, the original developer of  JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), who says the protocol "was a reaction to complexity arising around XML. Such complexity did not make sense in simple Web applications."

Many applications written in Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript And XML) "never go near XML," Jack adds. As he puts it: "The 'X' in Ajax is fading. Some would say Ajax and XML have forked. At the same time, those simple Web apps are growing in complexity."

I don't know if XML would ever go the way of Fortan or Pick, since these are programming languages, and XML is a meta language used in conjunction with programming languages. XML is at the foundation of many integration efforts, Web services, and SOA projects. We finally have something that's bringing together all the world's systems and data. I have a feeling there will be lots of XML around in the years to come.  But, as Jack reminds us, nothing is invincible -- not even mighty XML.