[Isamu]

"Over-hyped" doesn't mean the technology doesn't have merit. Both XML and OOP have great merit but were very much over-hyped for years as being always applicable and the ultimate answer for everything.

There were some fanciful things said in the past 15 years about both of these and others. Articles in Wired with apparently smart people bubbling with enthusiasm for the limitless potential. Even at the time I thought, fer gosh sakes, XML is an encoding. The really hard problems are still unsolved.

I still hear "we'll use XML" instead of concrete architectural plans, like it's a magic wand you wave over your project and all your dreams come true.

[raganwald]

Saying "We'll use XML" about a software design is like saying "The building will use steel, concrete, and glass."

[route66]

"We'll use JSON" is the 2.0 version I ran into during a recent project. Sigh.