The Role of XML in Web Content Management

The Role of XML in Web Content Management

Because each organization’s definition of Web content management is so personalized, it is rare that a complete content-management solution can be purchased “out of the box.” Usually, Web content-management solutions vendors spend a good deal of time cus-tomizing their tools to meet customer requirements and integrating tools from a number of vendors. Other content-management tools vendors simply provide low-level APIs and let you do the rest!

Whether you are purchasing a content-management system or integrating your own, it is important to realize the critical role XML can play in your Web content-management solution. First, XML can enable the components of the content-management solution to communicate and pass data from one to another. Second, application components within the content-management system can themselves be XML based. These roles of XML in Web content management are discussed in the following subsections.

XML to Integrate System Components

Perhaps the most important role XML can play in the success of a Web content-manage-ment solution is when it is the “glue” used to integrate the applications that make up the content-management solution. As you know, XML is a standard, neutral, data-encoding format. Each component of a Web content-management system you purchase or a solu-tion that you integrate yourself will be easier to plug and play if it is XML compliant. This means that each application component uses XML as a nonproprietary data format when it talks to other applications and that it uses XML when it passes data to another application component.

XML-Based Application Components

XML can also serve as the basis for certain application components within the content-management solution. The following content-management applications rely on XML functionality:

   The creation of XML-encoded structured content

   The validation of XML content

   The automated transformation/rendition/presentation of content across a variety of media

   The attachment of metadata to facilitate the management, discovery, and assembly of content

   Automated, reliable, secure content distribution over the Web