Everyone in the enterprise world is talking about XML like it's going to change everything. XHTML is supposed to replace HTML. SOAP is supposed to replace REST (well, HTTP forms). XML databases are supposed to replace relational databases.

Is XML overhyped or is this genuinely the future?

XML as a data interchange format is genuinely useful. XML as a replacement for everything is overhyped. HTML works fine for web pages. SQL works fine for databases.

XHTML is good practice because it forces you to write well-formed markup. But XML databases replacing MySQL? Not happening anytime soon.

The enterprise world loves XML because consultants can charge more for it. Most of the problems XML solves could be solved more simply.