XML overuse? (was Re: Python to XML to Python conversion)

[Erik Max Francis]

Peter Hansen wrote:

> It's obviously a religious issue, but I get the feeling that while
> some buy into the XML hype wholesale, and overuse it to their
> detriment, others are now jumping on some anti-XML bandwagon
> (possibly) without having really put it to the test.  I often find
> that a choice to use XML opens up interesting avenues which would not
> even have occurred to me had I started off with another format,
> and so far I'm not sure I regret any particular case where I've
> used it.

It's one of those things that has been elevated to the status of
buzzword, regardless of its actual benefits and disadvantages.  That
means that some people will think it is the One True Way and will use it
for absolutely every hole they can possibly cram the peg into (whether
it's appropriate for it or not), and on the same side some antizealots
who see some problems with it will exaggerate and insist that it's an
awful tool (often indicated by "X sucks" and "X is evil" without further
explication) and berate anyone who uses it.

XML has its uses, and for those uses it is very well suited, but like
any new idea there are those who will use it just for the sake of using
it, totally disregarding whether it's well-suited to the task.  It's an
unfortunate fact of life, regrettably.

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