XML provides extra help for embedded systems

The Extensible Markup Language (XML) has seen widespread adoption in desktop and server environments since it was first standardised in 1998. The flexibility of XML to transfer arbitrary data across any communications mechanism, its terse format and human-readable syntax quickly found favour with systems architects and programmers. Delivery of data across the Internet was a primary design goal for XML, but its benefits apply equally well for more local communication across a private network or even between processes on the same computer. Embedded systems can take advantage of XML´s benefits but relatively few actually use the markup language. XML is an option that embedded systems designers should consider. As an example, XML has been used to help a medical device integrate smoothly with a wider network infrastructure.