XML vs. HTML

[Chris Gray]

Sorry, my tang got a bit toungled up. The explicit question *is*: Is XML
inevitable? But the implicit question is: Do I (random library webmaster) 
have to learn XML? <IMG SRC="everest.jpg" ALT="XML Learning Curve">

I was trying to assuage the fears of someone with that question in the
back of their minds. Sometimes the unbridled enthusiasm of some for a new
thing provokes a needlessly negative response from those of a more
cautious nature. 

By the way, the page I pointed to (http://www.textuality.com/xml/) is
written in XML and displays just fine with lynx and Netscape 2. 

Chris Gray
Computer Systems Technician
Library Systems
University of Waterloo

On Sun, 17 May 1998, Karen G. Schneider wrote:

> With all due respect, no one on the list asked if XML were necessary.  The
> question is whether XML is inevitable.  Gazing into my own, highly personal
> crystal ball, and having had an expert tutor me in its fundamentals, I say
> yes.  Like Roy said, it just needs the right application to support it.
> The first time I saw the Web, through the Cern line-mode browser, I said
> "this will never catch on."  Even when I used lynx, I thought it was not
> everyman's tool or a major force to reckon with, and in many ways it
> wasn't.  But the day I spent 17 hours (literally) struggling to get Mosaic
> up and running on my home computer and then at 10 p.m. saw the Internet
> through a graphical interface--I knew what it felt like to step on the
> moon.  I actually had to leave the house and drive up and down Route 23
> (NJ) for an hour just to get the adrenaline out of my system.  
> 
> With respect to XML, what I don't know is whether that special tool will
> emerge, whether it will get the right support, whether another technology
> will surface, or whether XML will be completely OBE'd (overcome by events).
>  Time will tell.    
> _________________________________________________________
> Karen G. Schneider |  kgs at bluehighways.com http://www.bluehighways.com
> Author: A Practical Guide to Internet Filters, Neal Schuman, 1997 
> Director, Garfield Library of Brunswick, NY  garfield at crisny.org
> Garfield on the Web: http://www.crisny.org/not-for-profit/garfield
> Information is hard work
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>