• Posted by: Eng. Donya Bino
• September 11, 2025

Introduction to XML: Why This “Old” Tech Still Matters

Let’s be honest—when most people hear XML, they roll their eyes. It feels old-school, like floppy disks or Internet Explorer. These days, everyone talks about JSON. But here’s the thing: XML never really went away. It’s still quietly running behind the scenes in apps, banking systems, and even the Word documents you open every day.

So, what’s XML? At its simplest, it’s a way of putting data into little “containers” that are labeled so both humans and machines know what’s inside.

Take this tiny example:

<Person>

  <Name>Sarah</Name>

  <Email>sarah@test.com</Email>

</Person>

Looks boring, right? But imagine a giant company sending thousands of customer records back and forth every second. Without some kind of order, it’d be chaos. XML is the guy in the office who keeps everything labeled, filed, and organized.

A Quick Bit of History

XML popped up in the late ’90s, when the internet was exploding and people needed a universal way to share data. HTML could show you a web page, but it wasn’t meant for storing or describing data itself.

XML stepped in like, “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.” And for a while, it was the king of structured data.

Where You’ll Bump Into XML

Even if you don’t notice it, you’ve probably already used XML today:

1. Opening a Word or Excel file? Yep, that’s XML inside.
2. Bank transfers? Lots of them use XML messages.
3. E-commerce systems? Shipping details and invoices often get passed around as XML.
4. APIs? While JSON is the star now, older systems (and many big companies) still talk XML.

Basically, XML is the plumbing you don’t see but still rely on.

XML vs. JSON: The Rivalry

Here’s the same “person” data in JSON:

{

  "Person": {

    "Name": "Sarah",

    "Email": "sarah@test.com"

  }

}

Cleaner, shorter, easier on the eyes. That’s why developers love JSON. But XML has some strengths JSON doesn’t:

1. It can enforce strict rules with schemas (great if you don’t want mistakes in financial data).
2. It supports namespaces, so data from different sources doesn’t clash.
3. It’s battle-tested—industries that can’t afford mistakes (finance, healthcare, government) still trust XML.

Should You Care About XML?

If you’re a new developer, you might think, “Why bother? No one uses this anymore.” But here’s the truth: XML isn’t going away anytime soon. Banks, airlines, and tons of enterprise systems are still built on it.

Learning it won’t take long, and it gives you a better understanding of how data exchange really works. Plus, if you ever work in a field with legacy systems, knowing XML can save your skin.

Wrapping It Up

XML isn’t sexy. It’s not the shiny new toy. But it’s the kind of tech that quietly does its job and has been doing it for decades. Think of it like the reliable colleague who never calls in sick.

So, next time you open a Word doc or see a config file, remember—XML is still everywhere, keeping our digital world neat and tidy.