XML gains popularity as industrial communications standard
Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 8/1/2004 12:00:00 AM MDT
XML (eXtensible markup language) is becoming the most popular protocol for sending data across industrial Ethernet networks, according to a recent report by Venture Development Corp. (VDC), a Natick, Mass.-based research firm.
Users are opting for XML over other protocols in both wired and wireless environments. Alternative wired protocols include PROFInet and Foundation Fieldbus, while wireless alternatives to XML include wireless markup language (WML) and wireless application protocol (WAP).
An equal number of organizations surveyed by VDC in 2003 selected XML or Foundation Fieldbus as their preferred protocol for wired applications. Each protocol was favored by 16 percent of the companies surveyed. PROFInet was favored by 14 percent.
WAP currently is the most popular in wireless environments, with 33 percent of those surveyed choosing it as their favorite. XML was chosen by 27 percent, while 7 percent selected WML.
If current trends continue, VDC predicts XML will be the leading protocol in both environments by 2006. VDC also expects 31 percent of organizations to favor XML for wired applications by 2006, with 26 percent opting for PROFInet, and 25 percent choosing Foundation Fieldbus.
On the wireless side, VDC expects 56 percent of organizations to opt for XML by 2006, with 43 percent choosing WAP, and 26 percent WML.
