This page is provided as a convenient if somewhat sparse reference to XML. XML is anticipated to be the technology which will supersede the GEDCOM data syntax for the purposes of BetterGEDCOM (BG). XML will serve roughly the same purpose as the specification described in Chapter 1 of the GEDCOM 5.5 Standard release.

Please refer to the World Wide Web Consortium's XML Technology Website for detailed information on XML.

What is XML?


The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) defines XML like this: "The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a simple text-based format for representing structured information: documents, data, configuration, books, transactions, invoices, and much more. It was derived from an older standard format called SGML (ISO 8879), in order to be more suitable for Web use."

Some aspects of XML

XML language is widely used as a data format for formatting, categorizing and transmission of data. It has been customized for innumerable purposes and forms the basis for a number of widely used, familiar computer data technologies today. If you use a computer, you undoubtedly use XML in many ways whether you realize it or not.


Technical Aspects