• "Syntax, not semantics"
  • Tags have no predefined meaning
  • XML by itself conveys only content and structure, not presentation or behavior
• There are important applications for XML alone: interprocess communication, object serialization, metadata, database exchange
• But associating presentation or behavior with XML requires additional mechanisms
  • Downloadable programs, applets, or scripts designed for a specific tag set (grammar)
  • Tag-sensitive components (e.g., Java beans)
  • Industry agreements on the processing of specific grammars (example of the concept: HTML)
  • Stylesheets (XSL or CSS)

XML & JAVA:   PORTABLE DATA — PORTABLE PROGRAMS