Sams Teach Yourself XML in 24 Hours

Using an HTML File to Display the Data in an XML File

Although it's possible to embed XML data inside an HTML file, it's strongly discouraged. Once data is placed inside a file, it's essentially eliminated as an option for other programs. Separating the data from the code that processes it allows all programs to access the data and makes your code more generic.

This is especially true when that data is posted on the Web. For all but the most intensive of computations, the bottleneck of working on the Web is the time it takes to transfer information from one point to another. Making small, distinct files leads to faster transfers and less movement of extraneous data.

You might think the same amount of information needs to be transferred regardless ...