XML makes it possible for a desktop computer's web browser to also be used as a bank loan officer's user interfaceto the bank's mainframe systems. XML makes it possible for two legacy computing systems to speak with each otherwithout expensive software changes to their code. XML makes it possible for a web site to be voice aware so thatcustomers can call in and get important services or information over any type of phone, whether it's digital, analog, orIP. XML provides the necessary structure, like grammar in a language, to enable systems and people to communicate. Business, government, healthcare and education have been impacted by XML because it is the glue that binds theInternet, legacy computing systems, browsers and "inputs," like the human voice, together. XML enables human-to-human communications via the Web and it opens the door for human to system, system to human, and system-to-systemcommunications as well. d XML began as an effort to simplify the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), which was the InternationalOrganization for Standardization's (ISO) standard for defining data vocabularies. SGML has been around since 1986and was widely used to help businesses structure their documents. Things such as a parts catalog required vocabulariesthat were specific to their industries. Unfortunately, the complexity of SGML blocked widespread usage by the webcommunity. SGML was difficult to learn and embraced only by documentation professionals. XML emerged from SGML in a manner similar to the way the complex directory structure of X.500 gave rise to theLightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).