Adding XML to the MIS Curriculum: Lessons from the Classroom

Introduction One of the main functions of MIS faculty is to carefully choose topics for the MIS curriculum that will give students the most powerful and complete set of skills and knowledge within the restraints of the available resources. Currently, a fairly pervasive technology is called eXtensible Markup Language or XML. In a world of disparate computing technologies and oft divergent software applications XML is fast becoming a universal language for data representation (Yang, 2005). Like most new tools, in the beginning its actual value to businesses may be apparent to only a few keen observers of technology trends. XML allows companies to standardize their information and, at a higher level, lets industries standardize their information needs. When utilized correctly, XML-based applications will decrease transaction costs, thus enhancing the firm's potential for profitability (A. N. K. Chen, LaBrie, & Shao, 2003). It has even been suggested that its impact will be so important that companies not involved in setting the standards in their respective industry will be at a competitive disadvantage similar to that which arose at the advent of the Web, when some companies had a Web presence and others did not (Ray, 2002). The rapid growth of XML-formatted documents has forced all the major database vendors to include XML handling capabilities in the most recent versions of their products (Babcock, 2006). Judging by the amount of press that XML is getting, this trend seems to be gaining even more momentum. One researcher has claimed that XML is a critical driver in the growth of web services in e-business (M. Chen, 2003). If one accepts that the usage of XML is going to continue to grow in business then it is incumbent upon educators to update their curricula to reflect this fact. But just what is XML and how should it be taught in the MIS curriculum? This article will attempt to address these two issues and suggest some specific ways to begin integrating it into MIS coursework. As such, this is a conceptual paper that is intended to generate interest and debate on this topic. What is XML? XML, or eXtensible Markup Language, is a meta-language based on an earlier markup language called Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). Meta is derived from a Greek word that means "above, higher, or beyond," in the sense that it transcends normal language. So as a meta-language, XML is beyond normal computer languages because it provides the rules that facilitate the development of industry- and application-specific markup languages. These specialized XML languages allow for the transmission of data between users regardless of the platform, communication channel, operating system, or software application being used. Simply put, XML is a markup language that uses paired tags to describe data. The crucial difference between XML and other pre-existing markup languages such as HTML is that it uses tags to assign meaning to the actual content being marked up. This allows applications to be developed that truly separate the data content from the formatting and structure aspects of the document. As stated by the World Wide Web consortium (W3C) itself, XML ". is primarily intended to meet the requirements of large-scale Web content providers for industry-specific markup, vendor-neutral data exchange, media-independent publishing, one-on-one marketing, workflow management in collaborative authoring environments, and the processing of Web documents by intelligent clients. The language is designed for the quickest possible client-side processing consistent with its primary purpose as an electronic publishing and data interchange format (World Wide Web Consortium, 1998). Since XML was recommended by the W3C in February 1998, over 200 new XML languages have been established, with everything from Astronomical Instrument Markup Language (AIML) to Theological Markup Language (TML). …