High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Binary XML refers to any specification which defines the compact representation of XML (Extensible Markup Language) in a binary format. While there are several competing formats, none has been widely adopted by a standards organization or accepted as a de facto standard. Using a binary XML format generally reduces the verbosity of XML documents thereby also reducing the cost of parsing, but hinders the use of ordinary text editors and third-party tools to view and edit the document. Binary XML is typically used in applications where standard XML is not an option due to performance limitations, but the ability to convert the document to and from a form which is easily viewed and edited is valued. Other advantages may include enabling random access and indexing of XML documents.