The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a simple, flexible text format derived from SGML (ISO 8879). The W3C created, developed and continues to maintain the XML specification. The W3C is also the primary center for developing other cross-industry specifications that are based on XML. Some of these are done within the XML Activity, such as XML Query and XML Schema, and some are being done in other W3C Activities, such as Web Services, SVG and XHTML. The XML Activity tries to keep a balance between maintaining stability and backwards compatibility, making improvements that help to encourage interoperability, and bringing new communities into the world of XML.
The XML Activity is currently being rechartered. The Advisory Committee Review ended on the 13th of March, 2009, and at the time of writing (20th March 2009) the W3C response had not yet been issued.
The XML Core Working Group has published XML Fifth Edition as a W3C recommendation. Although this was controversial in the XML community, it appears to be gaining traction. The main change is to decouple XML from the version of Unicode, so that vast numbers of new characters in languages from Berber to Japanese, from Ethiopic to Korean, are now available for use in XML names and ID values. It is a major step forward for internationalization.
As James Clark pointed out in his blog, an erratum was needed to Namespaces, and this was also produced.
The XML Core Working Group had been waiting a long time for progress in the area of LERIs, a replacement specification for IRIs that incorproates legacy differences found in XML specifications, so that the specifications can refer to the LEIRI specification instead of copying the text. The Working Group published the LEIRI Note in November 2008, and the documents that were waiting for it are now moving forward. One such document was XML Base, and the Second Edition was published in january 2009.
The XML Core Working Group also continues to process errata.
The XML Query Working Group and the XSL Working Group have worked jointly on errata to XQuery 1.0, XSLT 2.0 and the supporting specifications, and on test suites for shared documents such as Full Text.
The XML Query Working Group has continued to work on XQuery 1.1, and at the time of writing (March 2009) has a number of documents ready to be published after the upcomig Advisory Committee meeting has ended. The Working Group has also processed a lot of issues raised both internally and by the public on XQuery 1.0.
The XSL Working Group has also been working on a streaming version, subset or profile of XSLT, as well as spending a lot of time working with XQuery and Schema, and on XSLT 2.0 issues and errata.
The XSL-FO subgroup has worked on XSLT 2.0, but has not yet published a working draft. It is expected in April.
The XML Schema Working Group has published a new round of Last Call Working Drafts of W3C XML Schema Definition Language (XSD) 1.1 Part 1: Structures and Part 2: Datatypes, and is now processing comments received.
They have also met jointly with the SML, XSL, XQuery and SML Working Groups.
The XML Processing Model Working Group moved XProc: An XML Pipeline Language to Candidate Recommendation.
The Efficient XML Interchange Working Group published a last Call Public Working Draft of the Efficient XML Interchange Format and has been processing comments.
The Service Modeling Language (SML) Working Group has published taken Service Modeling Language, Version 1.1 and SML Interchange Format Version 1.1 to W3C Proposed Recommendation status, and expects to be finished with its technical work before the end of the year.
Look for a number of W3C Recommendations from the XML Activity, as well as new work in XSLT and XQuery. The W3C Advisory Committee appears to believe that W3C should continue to do work in the area of XML, and W3C concurs!
| Group | Chair | Team Contact | Charter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Efficient XML Interchange Working Group (participants) | Takuki Kamiya, Michael Cokus | Carine Bournez | Chartered until 31 January 2010 |
| Service Modeling Language Working Group (participants) | John Arwe | Henry S. Thompson | Chartered until 31 December 2009 |
| XML Coordination Group (participants) | Michael Sperberg-McQueen | Liam Quin | Chartered until 31 January 2011 |
| XML Core Working Group (participants) | Paul Grosso, Norman Walsh | Henry S. Thompson | Chartered until 31 January 2011 |
| XML Plenary Interest Group | Michael Sperberg-McQueen | Liam Quin | Chartered until 31 January 2011 |
| XML Processing Model Working Group (participants) | Norman Walsh | Henry S. Thompson | Chartered until 31 January 2010 |
| XML Query Working Group (participants) | Andrew Eisenberg, Jim Melton | Liam Quin | Chartered until 31 January 2011 |
| XML Schema Interest Group | Michael Sperberg-McQueen | Henry S. Thompson, Michael Sperberg-McQueen | Chartered until 31 January 2011 |
| XML Schema Working Group (participants) | David Ezell | Henry S. Thompson | Chartered until 31 January 2011 |
| XSL Working Group (participants) | Sharon Adler | Liam Quin, Carine Bournez | Chartered until 31 January 2011 |
This Activity Statement was prepared for the October 2008 W3C Advisory Committee Meeting (Members only) per section 5 of the W3C Process Document. Generated from group data.
Liam R. E. Quin, XML Activity Lead
$Id: Activity.html,v 1.256 2009/04/15 21:43:59 sysbot Exp $