Why not use XML to describe traffic information?
There’s no reason why you couldn’t use XML as an external representation of traffic data. In fact, we propose an XML layout of this data and have sample applications that can insert and extract XML-style traffic data as Cart Chunks in WAVE files. However, the advantage of using the Cart Chunk is that it’s a representation integral to the audio file itself. There’s only one file, one package, to worry about. The audio data and traffic meta-data can be transported, stored, archived, indexed and retrieved as a single unit. This is a distinct advantage when transporting or e-mailing audio files. Moreover, many participants in the standardization process were adamant that a single file solution was preferable, given the risks of having information in two separable files, where one gets lost or corrupt.
