Editing Binary XML

{{Short description|Binary representation of Extensible Markup Language}}
Various [[binary file|binary]] formats have been proposed as compact representations for [[XML]] (Extensible [[Markup language|Markup Language]]).

==Binary representation==
Using a binary XML format generally reduces the verbosity of XML documents thereby also reducing the cost of parsing,<ref>The performance woe of binary XML http://webservices.sys-con.com/read/250512.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080520090831/http://webservices.sys-con.com/read/250512.htm |date=2008-05-20 }}</ref> but hinders the use of ordinary text editors and third-party tools to view and edit the document.  There are several competing formats, but none has yet emerged as a [[de facto standard|''de facto'' standard]], although the [[World Wide Web Consortium]] adopted [[Efficient XML Interchange]] (EXI) as a Recommendation on 10 March 2011.<ref>John Schneider, Takuki Kamiya, eds., "Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) Format 1.0", W3C Recommendation 10 March 2011 [http://www.w3.org/TR/2011/REC-exi-20110310/]</ref>

Binary XML is typically used in applications where the performance of standard XML is insufficient, but the ability to convert the document to and from a form (XML) which ''is'' easily viewed and edited is valued.  Other advantages may include enabling [[random access]] and [[index (database)|index]]ing of XML documents.

The major challenge for binary XML is to create a single, widely adopted standard. The [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO) and the [[International Telecommunication Union]] (ITU) published the [[Fast Infoset]] standard in 2007 and 2005, respectively. Another standard (ISO/IEC 23001-1), known as Binary MPEG format for XML ([[BiM]]), has been standardized by the ISO in 2001. [[BiM]] is used by many [[European Telecommunications Standards Institute]] (ETSI) standards for digital TV and mobile TV. The [[Open Geospatial Consortium]] provides a Binary XML Encoding Specification (currently a [[Best practice|Best Practice]] Paper) optimized for geo-related data (GML) and also a benchmark to compare performance of Fast InfoSet, EXI, BXML and [[deflate]] to encode/decode [[AIXM]].<ref>[https://portal.opengeospatial.org/files/?artifact_id=46394 AIXM 5.1 compression benchmarking : how EXI, FI, BXML and deflate compete when dealing with geo-related data ?]</ref>

Alternatives to binary XML include using traditional file compression methods on XML documents (for example [[gzip]]); or using an existing standard such as [[ASN.1]]. Traditional compression methods, however, offer only the advantage of reduced file size, without the advantage of decreased parsing time or random access. [[ASN.1]]/PER forms the basis of [[Fast Infoset]], which is one binary XML standard. There are also hybrid approaches (e.g., [[VTD-XML]]) that attach a small index file to an XML document to eliminate the overhead of parsing.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://xml.sys-con.com/read/453082.htm |title=Index XML documents with VTD-XML |access-date=2007-11-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704164141/http://xml.sys-con.com/read/453082.htm |archive-date=2008-07-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Binary XML efforts ==
Projects and file formats using binary XML include:

* [[BiM]] Standard, from the [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]], developed by the [[MPEG]] working group
* [[Fast Infoset]], a standard published by ISO/IEC and ITU-T
* [[Efficient XML Interchange]] (EXI) W3C Recommendation, based on work by [[Efficient XML Interchange|Efficient XML]] from AgileDelta, Inc.
* [[Extensible Binary Meta Language]] (EBML) from [[Matroska]]
* [[WBXML|WAP Binary XML]] (WBXML)
* [http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc219210.aspx .NET Binary Format: XML Data Structure] from [[Microsoft]]; the implementation included in [[.NET Framework]] 3.0 and later.
*[https://www.gnu-log.net/home/bml Binary Markup Language] (BML)

Other projects that have functionality related to (or competing with) binary representations include:

* [[VTD-XML]] from XimpleWare and VTD-XML project
* [[Protocol Buffers]] from Google
* [[Apache Thrift]]
* [[Data Distribution Service]] from [[Object Management Group|OMG]]
* [[Apache Avro]] for Big Data
* [[Android application package]] uses an undocumented binary XML format; the [[source code]] is open and well-commentated.<ref>{{cite web |title=Where is Android binary XML format documented? |url=https://reverseengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/21806/where-is-android-binary-xml-format-documented |website=Reverse Engineering Stack Exchange}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[BSON]]
* [[MessagePack]]
* [[CBOR]]
* [[Canonical S-expressions]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Binary Xml}}
[[Category:XML]]
[[Category:Data serialization formats]]