XML and the Enterprise

I have decided to merge the assignment into this already existing (though that might be a generous description) blog. Potentially this should yield some interesting entries on the topic of XML, and related services.

It is actually quite an exciting topic. It doesn't seem like it would be, but it is.

XML is an emerging technology for data delivery across the internet and beyond. It is utilized in most of the "exciting" new websites (AJAX anyone?), used in the innocuous SVG transparently to the user, and it is even used for configuration files of programs and services.

For me, the most exciting of these utilizations are those related to web services. A pillar of the Web 2.0 explosion is inarguably “mashups,” or services which utilize public API’s of other websites to provide something new and useful. Quite often these services provide a great deal of social interaction or are highly customizable (read personalized) by their intended user base. It is for these reasons that I think these web applications are so popular: they quite typically emphasize democratic and highly social interaction among the community of users.

Hopefully with what I learn in this class I can maybe dust off some old projects and breathe in them some new life. Specifically I would love to finish an Xbox Media Center python script I've been writing off and on for about two years (though that might be difficult as my Xbox was stolen). The script utilizes the Upcoming.org API to bring real time concert and event listings for any area to the Xbox. I had hoped to eventually add information from Amazon’s public API in conjunction with the concert information to allow users a quick bio of an artist in the event they were unfamiliar.

Anyway, my primary hope and I guess goal for this term, is to learn a set of skills which will allow me to realize more of the ideas I have.