Thus with the design goals of XML, that is:

• XML shall be straightforwardly usable over the Internet.
• XML shall support a wide variety of applications.
• XML shall be compatible with SGML.
• It shall be easy to write programs which process XML documents.
• The number of optional features in XML is to be kept to the absolute minimum, ideally zero.
• XML documents should be human-legible and reasonably clear.
• The XML design should be prepared quickly.
• The design of XML shall be formal and concise.
• XML documents shall be easy to create.
• Terseness in XML markup is of minimal importance.

Well then, what more could a Web designer ask for?