XML (eXtensible Markup Language) will be the prevailing data model for representing and exchanging electronic information. Other than its predecessor SGML (Standard Generalised Markup Language) which has been mainly used for documents, XML is also employed for data and metadata. This talk gives an overview on IPSI's past and current developments in information systems based on SGML and XML, and the challenges arising from using the XML family of Languages for documents, data, and metadata. The structural, linking and meta information expressible via the XML family will allow browsing, querying, selecting, filtering and communicating information and knowledge that far surpasses the power of HTML. New visualisation, dired manipulation and visual programming paradigms are needed to bring these functionalities to the wide range of users. |