[barefootliam]

"The biggest advantage of JSON and YAML" should be put in a context of, "when working as a programmer with config files".

When we designed XML, we were working on things like a million pages of Unix documentation, or the flight manuals for aircraft, or research journal articles, or transcriptions of inscriptions found on fragments of ancient Greek pottery - lots of small similar documents, or very complex documents.

XML lets people who are not primarily programmers do sophisticated text processing and information design without depending on outside resources.

People who complain about XML being brittle are saying they want a system that forgives syntax errors, in the same way that JavaScript... doesn't... or that JAVA... doesn't... or that C... doesn't...or that Python... doesn't.

XML is unbeaten for the things it's good at. It was (still is, often) a problem that people used if in places where it wasn't so good. But that doesn't make it bad - it means you need to understand where it's good and where it isn't.

[adamretter]

As the old saying goes - Use the right tool for the right the job!