Since any other application can identify the components in the document,

XML is a great enabler for Electronic Data Interchange. (EDI)

Becomes almost a programming language.

EDI is an older technology used in large enterprises.

XML may extend this benefit to smaller organizations.

Weakness:  Must have standards!  Microsoft (BizTalk), RosettaNet (IT), ebXML, finXML, UN CEFACT EDI etc.

"The EDI transactions were defined so concisely as to be unintelligible by humans," said Fulton Wilcox, director of information management at BOC Gases, a supplier of industrial gases. "XML will allow us to exchange more human-readable data so that we can do a wider variety of things with our partners."

eBusiness: The Hope, the Hype, the Power, the Pain 

( © J.  Wilson   1999, 2000 )