I think that XML is better used for machine-consumable processes rather than human-edited ones. The wealth of tools available mitigate the need to roll your

I think that XML is better used for machine-consumable processes rather than human-edited ones. The wealth of tools available mitigate the need to roll your own data format and help ensure that your output will be usable by anyone with a (ubiquitous) XML parser. That's a false dichotomy. The choice is not between XML and yet another home-rolled data format, but between XML and every other data format currently in existence. When compared against JSON, YAML, or s-exps XML always seems wrong for machine->machine communication.