 | Level: Intermediate Contributors: W3C 06 Feb 2007
Updated 25 Apr 2007 XML Linking Language (XLink) is a generic framework for
expressing links in XML documents, to complete its placement in
hypertext systems such as the Web. It can be used to create simple
links, such as those that are an essential part of HTML documents, or
more complex types of links, such as multiended links and link databases.
XML Linking Language
(XLink) Version 1.0
[W3C Recommendation] provides a generic
framework for expressing links in XML documents. Hypertext, which
requires linking, is the foundation of the Web, and adding sophisticated
linking abilities has always been expected to be a cornerstone of XML.
In fact, XLink was originally called "XML Part 2." Unfortunately,
defining a linking system for XML has proven to be far more complex than
doing so for a static vocabulary such as HTML. XLink was developed
through a long process that was charged with discord. For example, the
developers of XHTML decided not to use XLink and instead created
their own system called
HLink
[in development]. Even
now, a couple of years after its completion, adoption of XLink has been
slow. There is work in progress on
XML Linking Language (XLink)
Version 1.1
[in development]. The enhancements include making
some of the annotations optional, and allowing Internationalized
Resource Identifiers (IRIs) as opposed to plain Uniform Resource
Identifiers (URIs).
Nevertheless, XLink is important for being at the center of many
important XML-related projects, and it allows for much richer linking
than basic, one-way HTML links. XLink offers simple links, more
complex links that can have multiple end points (extended links),
and even links that are not expressed in the linked documents, but
rather in special hub documents (called linkbases).
Resources
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