E4X (ECMAScript for XML)

ECMA is updating ECMAScript (JavaScript to you and me), with enhancements for XML [via Sam Ruby]. E4X is based on BEAs extensions to ECMAScript in BEA WebLogic Workshop. The BEA article points out the akwardness and verbosity of DOM for manipulating XML, which is something I am fond of harping on. Then it goes on to explain the extensions to ECMAScript for manipulating XML, the here I would like to emphasize the word extensions, as they are not just adding in a new API, but instead are adding in new syntax to the core language for XML. Preferring syntax over an API or object-model is something I cover in Language-Centric Software Development