XML (eXtensible Markup Language)

XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a markup language standardized by the W3C that enables the structuring, storing, and exchanging of data in a way that is readable by both humans and machines. Unlike HTML, which is designed to describe how a web page is displayed, XML is primarily intended to represent the logical structure and content of information. Each piece of data is encapsulated in user-defined tags, making XML extremely flexible and adaptable to different domains.

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One of XML’s major strengths lies in its independence from platforms and programming languages: an XML document can be read and interpreted by systems in Java, Python, .NET, or C++, making it a universal data exchange format. Additionally, XML is extensible: it does not have a fixed set of tags but allows developers to define their own tags and schemas adapted to their business context.

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In the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning, XML is sometimes used for dataset annotation (for example, in certain image annotation formats in computer vision), for describing complex metadata structures, or for ensuring interoperability between different systems. Although lighter formats like JSON are often preferred today for many modern applications, XML remains widely used in industry standards such as healthcare (HL7), finance (XBRL), and telecommunications.

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References:

• W3C – Extensible Markup Language (XML): https://www.w3.org/XML
• Wikipedia – XML: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML
• Tutorialspoint – Introduction to XML: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/xml/index.htm‍