We've Turned XML Into A Crappy Programming Language

[The .NET and Java communities] have had this trend in which we started jamming everything into XML configuration.
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We’ve turned XML into a programming language, and a crappy one at that.
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With the ASP.NET MVC project, we’ve taken the approach of Code First, Config Second.

- Phil Haack, Senior Program Manager for ASP.NET MVC

 

I know this isn't a new idea, but I'm just glad to see that a Microsoft employee who is guiding the direction of a very important product "gets" the emerging trend of DSLs and is actively countering the community's past sins regarding XML.

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It was interesting to me that one of the comments on Phil's post mentioned MSBuild as an example of XML gone wild.  I have never used MSBuild, but I have used NAnt, which is very similar in that you basically find yourself programming in XML at some point.  When you find yourself reading  documentation on how to properly construct <if> and <foreach> XML elements, you start to get this strange feeling.  "Wait a minute.  This doesn't feel right.  Can someone please remind me why the hell I'm doing this in XML?"

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