Web publishing future hinges on XML

XML is central to the future of Web publishing, executives from major vendors in that market said during speeches at the Seybold Seminars Publishing 2000 conference, where companies are pledging broader product support for XML in future releases.

XML is a specification from the World Wide Web Consortium that allows Web authors to define custom tags and attributes, enabling XML documents to include metadata, or information about document content. Many vendors, Web designers and programmers point to XML as a superior method of exchanging data over the Internet because its use does not require standardized interfaces or specific programming tools.

Such an agnostic language ultimately could lead to a drop in the cost of Web publishing by 30% to 50% and a significant reduction in the time it takes to produce sites, according to Tim Gill, chairman and chief technical officer of Quark and one of the speakers during a special keynote presentation this week.

XML further gives the Web an advantage over traditional print, he suggested.

"I don't believe that there is any innovation in print that is going to save us even 10% in costs," he said, adding that this is a key reason why venture capitalists have fled from traditional print and are swarming to provide funding to Web publishers.

Gill was quick to add that he is not suggesting that traditional print is unimportant or will not last, but the cost savings that will accrue to Web publishers with what he called the "wholesale adoption of XML" will create opportunities for companies to make money through Internet publishing. Companies will be more easily able to resell their own content as well as to buy and use content from other Web publishers.

The Web further allows anyone who wants to post content to become a publisher, he said.

A big theme here this week is that successful Web publishers will make their sites more interactive, with plenty of reader input, and also will offer graphically interesting sites that load quickly. The explosion in Internet access devices other than PCs also is a factor, with vendors showing off products that enable handhelds and the like to access and display more than just simple text.

For instance, Adobe Systems and Palm Computing said they would integrate Adobe Portable Definition Format (PDF) technologies into the Palm platform. As a result, Palm users will be able to use their devices for electronic books and a wider range of documents.

Adobe officials showed off a number of new technologies and upcoming products during the special keynote session Wednesday, including a server software project codenamed Stilton, which allows Web publishers to remotely manage their work flow, according to Bruce Chizen, executive vice president of worldwide products and marketing for Adobe. Chizen appeared onstage with Adobe CEO and Chairman John Warnock.

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