This is now being fixed. XML Files Check out - Meserve, Jason J. Searching for the Holy Grail, XML style . Good overview article on why XML is the biggest thing since Java. Handy for explaining it to your non-XML colleagues. Application Development Trends is a publication worth reading.
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Tim Berners Lee invented the Web and his view is that XML will be as important to the Web as the Web was to the Internet. Check out the Red Herring article on the topic . Then check out IEEE Internet Computing resources on XML . It will have an even bigger impact on development. It is also a Microsoft core strategy.