XML turned 10 years old on10 Feb.
I remember working on a project back in the very late 90s (can't be sure when but it was using SQL 7.0) and we decided to use XML as a mechanism for storing certification results (so yes, we were using XML in SQL 7.0 – quite an achievement in itself).
Towards the end of the project our boss at the time (he left the company a year or so later) pronounced to the project team that this 'XML thing' was a fad and was never gonna take off. After he left the room, Scott and I just looked at each other with puzzled expressions, wondering what on earth could lead to such a pronouncement.
Two things happened in that moment. We knew:
- we'd never really have respect for our boss again, and
- we'd have a great anecdote to tell in the years to come
To this day Scott and I regularly inject 'XML – Nah! – it'll never take off' into conversations – and it never fails to amuse.
Happy Birthday XML.
