... companies to share data, it must be available to many applications on different operating systems. For applications to exchange data, the data must be structured so that different applications ... applications is that it provides a means for applications to share data. However, because data can come from so many different sources, there must be a way to make certain that the data is valid. ... need to have a way to navigate the structure, or lack of structure, of the data container. Summarizing, combining, and correlating data After you locate the data you want, you want to act...