XmlGen

What Is XML Used For?

XML is a format used to store data along with its structure. This feature is useful for exporting data, formatting documents, creating layouts, etc. used for many things. 

Now let's take a closer look at what XML is used for.

1. Data transfer

Almost every application needs a way to store and retrieve data. This usually happens over the internet using an API (Application Programming Interface). Back-End engineers create APIs that run on web servers.

The same API can be used by many applications, including web applications, desktop applications, and mobile applications, to save and access data in a database. A standard format for this data makes this possible.

XML is a format that programmers use to transfer data in a structure that can be parsed by all these various applications, and is often used to create APIs. SOAP and XML-RPC are two types of XML APIs used in web services. Any application that connects to any of these APIs only needs to know the format to use the data it contains.

2. Formatting documents

Web pages are HTML documents and HTML is an XML format. The HTML is then rendered by a web browser, which presents it in a visually pleasing format. Tags, headings, paragraphs, images, etc. in an HTML document. defines specific item types. The browser knows how to render these elements based on these tags.

HTML also stores contextual information about the data it contains in the form of attributes that include IDs and classes. CSS works with HTML to apply certain styles based on these attributes, such as making the heading red or setting the font for a paragraph.

This is just one example of using XML for markup. PDF files, PostScript files, Microsoft Word documents, PowerPoint documents, and RTF text files are also stored as XML. When you open these files in their default application, it parses this XML, formats it, and gives it the style you see on your computer screen.

3. Search the web

Search engines have evolved over the years, now using HTML (XML) tags to make searches more accurate.

For example, let's say you're looking for a book by your favorite author. When you tell the search engine that you are looking for Yaşar Kemal, a search engine will search for <author> in HTML pages.

4. Creating a layout

Every layout in an Android mobile app is rendered in XML. These layouts determine where the data will be rendered on the phone screen. Common Android layouts include the Linear Layout, which tells the app to align the content on the screen horizontally or vertically, the Frame Layout, which is designed to dynamically include other layouts, and the List layout, which displays items that you can scroll through.

5. Storage of configuration data

XML also stores data used to configure an application. In Microsoft Excel, XML holds all the information contained in a spreadsheet. It's not just the data, but also the definitions of the columns, the format of the fields, the calculations they use, etc. is also kept. Android applications use XML not only for layouts, but also to store colors, styles, and sizes that the application will use.