XML as the .NET Metalanguage

Much of the underlying integration of .NET is accomplished with XML. For example, Web Services depend completely on XML for interfacing with remote objects. Looking at metadata usually means looking at an XML version of it.

ADO.NET, the successor to ADO, is heavily dependent on XML for the remote representation of data. Essentially, when ADO.NET creates what it calls a dataset (a more complex successor to a recordset), the data is converted to XML for manipulation by ADO.NET. Then, changes to that XML are posted back to the datastore by ADO.NET when remote manipulation is finished.

.NET uses XML internally, too. The standard way of storing configuration information in .NET is XML-based.

With XML as an “entry point” into so many areas of .NET, integration opportunities are multiplied. Using XML to expose interfaces to .NET functions enables developers to tie components and functions together in new, unexpected ways. XML can be the glue that ties pieces together in ways that were never anticipated, both to Microsoft and non-Microsoft platforms.

Chapter 11 discusses XML in .NET in more detail.