[mtts]

An embarrassment that solves no problem, not even the problem of agreeing on how to represent data?

Surely you jest. In the real world, well, my world anyway, the problem of how to transfer bits of data around in a file format wildly different systems can understand is a major problem indeed, even if it's not a terribly sexy one, and the, admittedly ugly, representation of data in some sort of HTML-inspired fashion may not be anywhere near a solution for the data representation problem, it's most definitely better than not making a stab at solving the problem at all.

[trevelyan]

I'm confused as well. XML is fantastic for providing an easy way to roll customized data storage and interchange documents.

The article is pointing to technologies like JSON as a "backlash" to XML. I only use JSON when sending PHP objects directly to javascript to manipulate. Why create a data interchange format if you don't need to?