14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft will begin killing Internet Explorer features in order to increase the security level delivered by the browser. Just forget about MSXML4, from now on your first choice should be MSXML6. Toward the end of 2007, in the October-December timeframe, the Redmond Company plans to issue a kill-bit for Microsoft XML 4. In this context, Microsoft informed that MSXML6 will be supported as a replacement for MSXML4 and that the company will release downlevel OS Service Packs.
?We are going to kill bit MSXML4 in the October ? December timeframe of this year. Kill Bit applies to Internet Explorer only. After the kill-bit , applications will not be able to create MSXML4 objects in the browser. Other Applications like C++ apps which are not kill-bit aware will continue to work with MSXML4,? informed a member of the Microsoft XML Team.
Along-with the security motivated kill-bit for MSXML4, Microsoft will also remove the XSLT processor from the Download Center page in the next year. MSXML6 is the latest version of XML available to customers and it has already shipped with Windows Vista.
?This is where all the functionality, performance and security improvements are going in. In addition MSXML6 provides improved W3C compliance and increased compatibility with System.XML in .Net. The recommendation for MSXML customers is to program using MSXML6 and upgrade apps using older versions to MSXML6,? the Microsoft XML Team member added.
Currently, MSXML6 has reached the stage of the first Service Pack. Microsoft revealed that this is the best strategy for the evolution of MSXML, and that the end-customers will benefit from a safer browsing experience when using MSXML6.