VRML isn't based on XML - the syntax is all curly brackets and spaces. The name was definitely an attempt to ride the XML hype train though. In a way, VRML was to XML as JavaScript was to Java.
Interesting, I had no idea. I stand corrected on that detail. But yeah, my comment was about the sense of hype I remember about certain technologies as they rose to popularity. I remember there was almost this funny sense that XML would solve everything. And it was connected to this broader sense at the time (owing to the dot com bubble) that technology would solve everything. Really interesting to look back on all that through the lens of time.
