xml news from FierceCIO

Every CIO is besieged by data that seems to multiply exponentially. This information must be stored somewhere, but the volume and the complexity of interactions in a company make it a huge task, for... Read more...

> Major computer vendors are backing the Service Modeling Language (SML) spec for XML-based IT management. Read more...

Web specs come and go, but it's not often that you see a laundry list of industry heavyweights getting behind a spec for IT management. But that's exactly what's brewing: Microsoft, IBM, Cisco

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SML may be the most useful standard you've never heard of. The Service Modeling Language standard, an XML-based schema to define information about hardware, software, applications and services,... Read more...

There's a growing trend among security vendors to build XML compatibility into network appliances. Not only does that enable disparate products to communicate, but it also creates new options such as having detection/prevention appliances serve as intelligent routers. XML isn't known for speed but in security, it's the quality of results and ease of maintenance that matter most. XML itself is secure when used with HTTP/S channels, and hardware can store the policies.

For more on security:
- read this Network World op-ed

There are more than a few good reasons why excitement is building around AJAX(Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), an evolving programming strategy that gives Web sites the same level of... Read more...

There are some decent open-source tools for coding enterprise applications using the asynchronous Java and XML method, but in general the tools aren't as good as commercial versions. Dojo is one of the best, along with Google Web Toolkit, Open Rico/Prototype, Yahoo AJAX Library, Zimbra's Kabuki AJAX Toolkit and even Microsoft Atlas (not open-source but you own its code.) For certain uses they match pro tools like Backbase, JackBe and Tibco's General Interface.

For more on AJAX:
- check out this InfoWorld article

The people behind the Firefox browser already said version 2.0 won't have anything too new or sexy within its visual aspects. However, with Beta 1 now available, who can resist looking? Features include phishing protection, RSS and XML viewers, in-line spell checking, more intuitive bookmarking, and an undo feature for closed tabs. Most of these features and others are already available as extensions, but at least you'll know that they're tested and relatively stable.

For more on …

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Microsoft posted a free, Web-based preview version of the Office 2007 suite for anyone to use as an alternative to downloading and installing the hefty software locally. Office 2007 has a vastly different user interface and is very XML-intensive compared to Office XP. The mainstream version is still due for a public launch in early 2007, coinciding with the Vista launch. (Readers, I plan to try out the hosted version this week. Look for my comments Friday. - …

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Sun Microsystems is the latest vendor to jump on the AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) bandwagon to foster better Web services, online navigation and ecommerce delivery. In joining the... Read more...