What the fucking XML is?

In year 2005, before I got the offer from MYOB, and on the same time, I got several interview invitation, there was a very interesting interview session held at Nxxxxxxxx limited company. The interviewer is very familiar with Web base development (I guess), since all the question he ask are related to the Web Technology. He has throw out a very interesting question said "Do you know XML?" Immediately there are two question generated from my brain:

1. What the fuck he asking me this question?
2. Does it really matter if I don't know?
   

Let's 1st focus on the 1st question. This question is to test whether I have take the initiative to learn new language beside my work. During that time I know XML language (and many others), but I don't really know the objective of this language being designed because I am a C developer, it seems no point for me to adopt this "new thing" in my application development. To me, I will rather choose INI instead of XML since I don't see any problem on using INI so far. And the objective of INI is clear and set:

"To configure your application setting and behavior."

Thus I have answer NO to this question. Once I have said no, then he ask why. So this is something related to my 2nd question.

Do I really need it? Yes, I need it because I am applying for the Web Developer position. This is a must and very important. I am applying this position because I was looking for career advancement into Web Development.

The interview has failed at last. But lucky I did not get the offer. If I have accept the offer, then I wouldn't have my goal:

"To be a C Software Architect."

And also I wouldn't develop Linux application now if I have move to Web. Thank god not giving me this offer. I love you.

Now I was giving a task on redesign the software architecture design for future enhancement. The objective is target on the future. No one able to see from now. My fellow teammate and I are working so hard on this problem and we strike to create a better architecture design for future. One colleague show up his new idea:

"To use XML to mapped all the different logic on the same screen for different model, so that we can achieve robustness without being need to recompile the whole program."

This is too bad. This will gonna burden up the developers who going to support on the XML. Imaging you are working on the XML without knowing the problem domain. XML is a language to do the configuration stuff, it is not a language to mapped the business/presentation logic for different model.

But at last we all agreed not to use XML in the logic mapping. Lesson learned here, don't be over ambitious on programming language, think carefully why this language is being designed and what is the objective/purpose in choosing a programming language in the development.

Happy programming !!