Plain Old XML

Plain Old XML (POX) is the basic <a href="/facts/XML/clNgUfWk">XML</a>, sometimes mixed in with other, blendable specifications like <a href="/facts/XML_namespace/vRXPlXVn">XML Namespaces</a>, <a href="/facts/Dublin_Core/krf0ert0">Dublin Core</a>, <a href="/facts/XInclude/7xephB43">XInclude</a> and <a href="/facts/XLink/U1Mva8n2">XLink</a>. This contrasts with complicated, multilayered XML specifications like those for <a href="/facts/Web_service/qxrwqB3D">web services</a> or <a href="/facts/Resource_Description_Framework/WMufyukm">RDF</a>. The term may have been derived from or inspired by the expression <a href="/facts/Plain_old_telephone_service/7uEc2wFY">plain old telephone service</a> (POTS) and, similarly <a href="/facts/Plain_Old_Java_Object/sTUnd6MN">Plain Old Java Object</a> (POJO).
An interesting question is how POX relates to <a href="/facts/XML_Schema_(W3C)/X6Uly3dm">XML Schema</a>. On the one hand, POX is completely compatible with XML Schema. However, many POX users eschew XML Schema to avoid the poor or inconsistent quality of XML Schema-to-Java tools.
POX is complementary to <a href="/facts/REST/Q58zfr5h">REST</a>: REST refers to a communication pattern, while POX refers to an information format style. 
The primary competitors to POX are more strictly-defined XML-based information formats such as <a href="/facts/Resource_Description_Framework/WMufyukm">RDF</a> and <a href="/facts/SOAP_(protocol)/vXlAMnjp">SOAP section 5 encoding</a>, as well as general non-XML information formats such as <a href="/facts/JSON/bs1rUAhd">JSON</a> and <a href="/facts/Comma-separated_values/dv1pSR1r">CSV</a>.

Plain Old XML open-in-new

Plain Old XML