From the preface to the book: > As I looked at all of this, I felt a sense of a knowledge gap. I saw people using XML where a custom syntax would be more read

From the preface to the book: > As I looked at all of this, I felt a sense of a knowledge gap. I saw people using XML where a custom syntax would be more readable and not harder to do. I saw people bending Ruby into complicated contortions when a custom syntax would be easier. I saw people playing around with parsers when a fluent interface in their regular language would be a lot less work. In short, Fowler isn't espousing implementing new syntax at the drop of the hat; he recognizes the various forces many other commenters on this post have already mentioned, and navigates through them appropriately.