I have been watching this discussion with interest, and I suspect the answer is that it is a good idea to know ABOUT HTML and XML, but that it is not necessary to know HTML and XML. Writing school books has led me through the new and wondrous world of Web 2.00. I don't think anyone knows exactly what it is, and where it is all going, but it is certainly going somewhere significant. Whilst it is powered by the newest and best technologies, the user has to know less and less about those technologies to achieve quite high-level results. It is possible for someone who just knows the basics of windows and internet explorer to put up a website, optimise it, have it hosted, get a domain name, use a shopping trolley, collect and distribute money, organise advertising - in fact, everything that is necessary to run an on-line business, all free of charge or close to free, and all using very simple and very fast, front-end, drag and drop style, web-based facilities. Looking into the crystal ball ... I suspect that independent web developers operating from their suburban street front offices will disappear as small business operators realise just what their computer savvy receptionist can achieve for a bit of time (less time than it would take to specify their requirements to a web developer) and zero dollars. Also I suspect that, over the next few years, the whole face of business internet and intranet work will change as employers realise their lower level workers can do more and more front-end editing, and that they need their technical staff less and less to do back-end work. The industry will always need the few "Judas sheep" - those HTML and XML experts who are willing to sell out their peers in favour of implementing user friendly systems that anyone can use, and supporting that process - support roles will increase but not as much as coding roles decrease. Anyone who is interested, at the simplest level, you can code yourself a web page that is up an running in half and hour using www.weebly.com or a blog that can look like a web page at https://www.blogger.com/, which includes getting an auto-generated web address for that page (or buying your own through them), and free hosting. Graphically they are template based, but most have a huge range of templates with components that are customisable so that every website can look different. So allow another half hour to play with the look and feel. (Many allow you to pay to remove their logos.) Then allow another hour to insert a few widgets. These sites are able to run any viable widgets such as those provided by Google for AdWords and AdSense, by PayPal for shopping trolley transactions, by YouTube etc. So they are fully functional commercial sites. It is quite stunning how much you can actually achieve through them, and how different each site can look, for a base of absolute zero understanding of HTML or XML. The bulk of your time will be in setting up your Google and PayPal accounts to access these widgets. If you have been struggling for a while to find the time to put up your own business website but can't find the time, set aside a morning, bite back your professional pride and experiment with one of these. The sites below are all drag and drop, much is experimental, and they are all work in progress, but they give an idea what you can do. Christine http://www.christinekent.net/ http://christinekent.blogspot.com/ http://stores.lulu.com/christinekent ************************************************** To view the austechwriter archives, go to www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject field (without quotes). To manage your subscription (e.g., set and unset DIGEST and VACATION modes) go to www.freelists.org/list/austechwriter To contact the list administrator, send a message to austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx **************************************************