XML as a standard I/O data format in scientific software development

XML is an open standard data format with strict syntax rules, which is widely used in large-scale software development. It is adopted as I/O file format in the development of SpectroSim, a simulation and data-processing system for soft x-ray spectrometer used in ICF experiments. XML data that describe spectrometer configurations, schema codes that define syntax rules for XML and report generation technique for visualization of XML data are introduced. The characteristics of XML such as the capability to express structured information, self-descriptive feature, automation of visualization are explained with examples, and its feasibility as a standard scientific I/O data file format is discussed. (authors)