XML (Extensible Markup Language) and Webservices

XML is a standard for creating markup languages which describe the structure of data. It is not a fixed set of elements like HTML, but rather, it is like SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) in that it is a metalanguage, or a language for describing languages. XML enables developers to define their own tags - for instance, an XML document can generate an HTML, PDF, and Word copy of the same file, enabling developers to have just one master document to update. XML is a formal specification of the World Wide Web Consortium.

We use XML in applications such as CarweB Vehicle Lookup's and the Boat International Superyacht Database to define the structure of the data feeds to the end customers and in particular to b2b clients.

XML Web Services allow databases to talk to each other. And they allow this with very little effort from developers, and with very little interference from firewalls.

Web Services basically use the same technology that web sites use to send data around the planet. By packaging the data up as XML - plain text - the data is readable by almost any modern system.

We also use web services to provide an additional layer of security between web servers and database servers. By 'disconnecting' the two servers and using XML Web Services to communicate, the database server can sit securely behind any number of firewalls, happily sending data out to web applications with no direct connection to the outside world.

We have used webservices to produce management tools for Market Research companies, and also to provide a highly efficient interface to the CarweB Vehicle Data system.

Projects include: