Best of…: Classic WTF: XML Anybody?

We're taking our summer break, which means we reach back into the archives and find some classics. This one teaches you everything you need to know about generating XML. --Remy

XML isan absolutely wonderful innovation. It allows us to easily describe and share just about any data immaginable. Of course, there's always gotta be someone (as Tim points out) who has to go and ... well ... see for yourself ...

The code in this screenshot exists in about 20 places. Each time is this style and is customized for the particular set of statistics that that test generated. Recently I was brought on to the project and part of my goal was to improve the projects effectiveness. Since no DTDs or documentation of any kind existed for the XML format(s) I created one. Imagine my horror when changes need to ripple through 20+ "custom" XML outputs. Unfortunately this code still exists but I am trying hard to correct things that make it hard to eliminate (can anyone say tight coupling).

[Advertisement] BuildMaster allows you to create a self-service release management platform that allows different teams to manage their applications. Explore how!