Microsoft commits to XML

Microsoft has pledged itself to open internet standards, denying an allegation made by Sun Microsystems that it would backtrack on its XML commitments.

Microsoft has pledged itself to open internet standards, denying an allegation made by Sun Microsystems that it would backtrack on its XML commitments.

Sun president Ed Zander launched a wide-ranging attack on Microsoft last week, including an accusation that the Redmond giant would withdraw its commitment to open internet standards.

But Microsoft said that its .Net vision is entirely based on the principle of openness. Richard Hamblen, developer marketing manager at Microsoft, said: ".Net needs other technology to connect into it. Otherwise it would be an island."

Hamblen said that the Simple Object Access Protocol specification developed by Microsoft and IBM was presented to the W3 consortium for acceptance into the standard. "Anyone can use and adopt the technology of XML. How we deliver it as merchandise can be proprietary, like any other supplier," he added.

Zander compared what he describes as Sun's open approach to XML development with the course he claims Microsoft is charting. "You can expect to see Microsoft burying XML, changing the application program interfaces (APIs) and making it only work with its own software," he said.

He added that his opinion is based on a comparison of Microsoft's approach to XML with its development of ActiveX and component protocols such as Distributed Component Object Model, which are proprietary.

Mitul Mehta, managing director at independent consultancy TekPlus, said the market needs open solutions and that no company is yet powerful enough to produce XML tools without interoperability.

"XML is still being developed and I expect most companies to play by the book until at least the second or third versions of their products, so that basic APIs will work with those of other vendors," he said.