binary XML

binary XML

A binary option for XML, which is a text-based format. Binary versions of XML take up less space, and, more importantly, requests and responses take less network bandwidth. For example, a TV program guide containing thousands of descriptions can be transmitted in binary XML at least twice as fast to cable and satellite set-top boxes as its text-based equivalent. Individual elements within an XML structure can also be extracted (parsed) faster with binary formats. Fast Infoset is a binary format from the ITU-T, and Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) is from the W3C. See Fast Infoset.

Decompress in Small Chunks
Just like any text, an XML file can be compressed with a Zip or other compression algorithm; however, the entire file must be decompressed at the receiving side as a complete unit before any elements can be used. Binary XML formats compress the XML text into small blocks that can be decompressed sequentially by the receiver. They are thus well suited for processing in handheld devices that would not have the memory and CPU speed to decompress a large file. See XML, binary file and Protocol Buffers.