What is XML and Why Should Companies Use It?

XML is an international data standard, a sort of lingua franca for computing. To be formal about it, XML stands for Extensible Markup Language. Practically speaking, XML is a method to structure electronic documents, and its aim is to separate presentation, structure, and meaning from the actual content. It’s been so successful at doing this, it’s now used to represent any kind of data structure (including databases and other business information).
(Link: What is XML and Why Should Companies Use It?)