4.3 Moving On

I've now shown you how to create XmlReader and XmlWriter types to read one particular alternative XML syntax, and how to use them in programs that think they're reading and writing XML. You can think of other applications; besides other alternative XML syntaxes, such as YAML (Yet Another Markup Language) and James Clark's Compact Syntax for RELAX NG, you could read data from other formats completely unrelated to XML, such as CSV files, DBF files—even databases and filesystems.

The knowledge of how to read and write XML to and from a variety of physical and logical formats forms a good basis for what's to follow. You'll see the real power of XmlReader and XmlWriter as they are combined with higher-level XML functionality, starting with the Document Object Model.