Extensible Markup Language (XML)

What is Extensible Markup Language (XML)?

XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a markup language used to store and transport data in a structured format readable by both humans and machines.

In XML, data is stored within tags that define its structure and meaning. For example, an XML document might use tags such as <book>, <author>, and <title> to define the structure of a book, with the data stored as text, numbers, or other formats within each tag.

What is XML used for?

XML is widely used for exchanging data between different systems and applications, as it provides a standard way to structure and organize data. It is also used for configuration files, storing data in databases, and creating web services.

What are the advantages of XML?

One of XML's key strengths is its flexibility. Because it is extensible, developers can create their own tags and structures to suit the specific needs of their applications. While XML remains an important data-exchange standard, newer formats such as JSON have grown more popular in many contexts.

XML and MIDAS

In 2010, we upgraded MIDAS to use XML for both database and settings storage, having previously stored data in CSV files. In 2012, we moved database storage from XML to MySQL, and continued using XML for settings until 2019, when we then migrated to JSON.