Java software for Web data transfer in beta

The new XML parser, codeveloped with Microsoft, features Extensible Style Language (XSL) support, allowing users to apply style sheets to XML data, and XML Query Language (XQL) support, allowing users to query databases or mainframes using XML.

XML is a system for defining specialized markup languages used to transmit formatted data. It is related to HTML, but XML is not itself a markup language.

Available for download at DataChannel's Web site, the new version supports the Document Object Model, a standard application programming interface for accessing content within a browser, and features a "validating" XML engine, meaning it makes sure tags a developer uses conforms to the Document Type Definition the developer created.

DataChannel, in Bellevue, Washington, will release the final version of the parser in the 1999 first quarter. It will also be included in Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5.0 browser.

IBM also offers a Java-based XML parser.