Why Every Software Engineer Should Still Understand XML
In the fast-paced world of software development, new technologies emerge and dominate the headlines, often pushing older ones to the background. For a while now, JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) has been the undisputed champion for data interchange, especially in web APIs. And for good reason – it's lightweight, easy to parse in JavaScript, and human-readable. However, to dismiss XML (Extensible Markup Language) as a relic of the past would be a significant oversight for any serious software engineer. While it may not be your first choice for a brand-new REST API today, understanding XML is far from an academic exercise. It's a foundational piece of knowledge that will inevitably save you headaches and unlock capabilities throughout your career. Let's dive into why XML remains a critical concept in the software engineer's toolkit. 1. The Legacy Ecosystem is Vast (and Not Going Anywhere Soon) This is arguably the most practical reason. Many large, established, and miss...