XML is the finest example of cargo cult engineering. "The Web was a huge success, there must be a reason. Oh I know, it must have been HTML. We need more of th

XML is the finest example of cargo cult engineering. "The Web was a huge success, there must be a reason. Oh I know, it must have been HTML. We need more of that, and bigger, extensible! Behold, XML!" I remember shaking my head in wonder during the height of the XML hype. What were all those supposedly very smart people thinking? To me, HTML was already a huge mistake, the Web succeeded in spite, not because of it. What could you do in HTML/XML that you couldn't in s-expression, only simpler, more readable, and more writable? How many man-years have we collectively wasted having to read/write/generate/process/validate/... the mess that is HTML/XML, as opposed to a simpler, more sensible format such as s-expression?