While our silly bovine example gives a basic understanding of the concepts of XML, it hardly even begins to demonstrate the potential of this language. In the class presentation, Dave showed off a much more developed example, with a larger XML file. By applying an XSL file that handles the XML data and outputs it in a much more complex table-like structure, the resulting output shows the data in a much more understandable form. With a different table system, the same data can be seen in a totally different way.

        By adding another language -- JavaScript, for example -- the output can be made dynamic, so that what the user wants is displayed. For an example of this, see Dave's JavaScript homework.

        But XML isn't only for the Web. A new open-source word processor in development, AbiWord, uses XML for its file format. An example AbiWord file is here, the first few paragraphs of a story. Note that the character formatting becomes elements of a tag. With a system like this, the word processor itself becomes both the browser and the XSL page.

        Again, in a small project like this, we can only begin to scratch the surface of XML's infinite range of uses and possibilities. We hope that this brief tutorial has given you an understanding of how XML works, and maybe inspired some ideas for new uses of this ever-expanding technology.