David Mertz, IBM developerWorks
Over time, XML has permeated many niches. One
area where XML is used increasingly is in the configuration of
graphical user interfaces, especially in elements that are
persistent but should not be fixed at compile-time. In this
installment, the author looks at the use of XML in Mac OS X's Aqua
GUI, and in the K Desktop Environment (KDE) which is either
standard or available in most modern Linux distributions. So far,
the use of XML in configuring modern GUIs is a bit haphazard. Most
interfaces use XML in some places, but other mechanisms elsewhere.
But it's clear that the general movement is toward XML. Clearly,
Mac OS X Aqua and KDE each have their own XML philosophy. Mac OS X
uses solely XML elements that correspond to broad data types, while
everything that is really application-specific or GUI-specific is
shunted off into the PCDATA content of container elements. In
contrast, KDE's XML feels very usage-specific.
http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-matters34.html
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