Remembering the Future

XML capabilities in Word, Excel, and InfoPath help bridge the gap between desktop documents and databases, and give enterprises a reason to upgrade

Another juicy corporate morsel: Office documents can now incorporate what's called XML code (extensible markup language). That statement may mean nothing to you, but it will give corporate geeks dilated pupils and sweaty palms. XML can tie together specially defined areas in ordinary Word and Excel documents with big, humming corporate databases. Fill in the blanks of the company expense report, and the company's SQL database can inhale and process it automatically.