XML

XML, or Extensible Markup Language, is a fundamental tool in the tech world for structuring and exchanging data in a human and machine-readable way. It's like a common language that computers and software applications can understand and use to communicate effectively.

Imagine you have a configuration file for a software application. With XML, you can organize the settings like this:

<configuration> 
  <database>
  <host>localhost</host>
  <port>3306</port>
  <username>root</username>
  <password>password123</password>
  </database>
  <server>
  <ip>192.168.1.100</ip>   
  <port>8080</port>   
  <timeout>300</timeout>   
</server></configuration>

Here, XML allows you to neatly structure details about the database connection and server settings.

XML isn't limited to configuration files, though. It's widely used in web services to exchange data between servers and clients, in data interchange formats like RSS feeds and SOAP messages, and even in storing documents with rich formatting and metadata.

Developers rely on XML parsers to read and process XML data in their applications. These parsers allow them to extract specific information, make changes, or generate new XML documents as needed.

XML's flexibility and readability make it a cornerstone of modern software development, enabling seamless integration and interoperability between different systems and technologies.