XML- or extensible mark up language¹- is a way of transporting and storing data. It is able to be read by both machines and humans. It is influential as it easily accessible and utilised, as I learnt firsthand recently.

XML is also standardised, which is really useful for us as this means even is it shared across many different platforms, the data can still be analysed and understood.

The basic rules for XML are that it must be well-formed, obey the syntax rules, and follow any semantic rules that have been set in the XML schema².

I found a website which discusses XML to be particularly useful when it comes to practical application. I would also recommend the below youtube video to fellow beginners.

_{¹Mark up language is a way of encoding text by use of a set of symbols to manage the way it functions structurally.}

_{²Schema refers to the way a database is organised.}

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On a personal note, all the notes in the world do not exactly prepare you for opening up Visual Studio Code- it is intimidating to someone with no prior experience, coming from a field of study (languages) that seemed so completely removed from coding and information technology. In actuality, they are not so removed, but rather intertwined in many ways.

As it would turn out XML is not as difficult to work around with for the first time. The template and instructions I was given definitely helped, alongside independently researching advice to get XML to operate the way I needed it to. The poem I was encoding used a somewhat uncommon rhyming scheme called “Terza Rima” (third rhyme) which utilises a three line rhyming scheme interlocking throughout the poem. Inputting this into XML was at first overwhelming but once the rules are learnt it is not so daunting- completely straightforward and do-able with proper reference and guidance. While encoding part of Dante Alighieri’s 17th canto of the Inferno, I couldn’t help but be struck by the realisation that the poet whose work I was using could never (in all likelihood) imagined language existing in this form. Although Dante’s Inferno is a work studying the use and limits of language and poetry, could anyone have predicted language being used in such a way? If you have any thoughts, feel free to leave a comment below ٩(｡•́‿•̀｡)۶