Both are useful to Java developers, although for different reasons. Indeed, even though XML is a standard, there are small differences in how vendors implement it. To avoid being burned by the differences, Common XML defines a subset that works reliably with every parser. Publishers use XML to manage large Web sites or other documents. Some constructs in XML exist solely for publishing applications.
Mixed content is a prime example.
However, mixed content is a distraction for data applications. Indeed, XML parsers pass indenting and spaces to applications that ignore them. Most applications that use Java and XML fall into the e-commerce or eAI range, so they will benefit from the tight focus on a practical subset. MinXML is easier to implement. As we will see, MinXML parsers are dramatically smaller and sometimes faster than regular XML parsers.