What are your thoughts on binary content in XML vs. mere references to the location of the data?
I am working on a project, where the system needs to exchange complex data -- often consisting of a lot of different files (usually cad-files). A lot of the material to be sent is confidential. My colleagues have been thinking about embedding files as binary content in XML rather than referencing it, but I am not sure of the consequences. I hope You can help me.
Regards, Morten
If the binary data is large then you will almost certainly incur a performance penalty by embedding it in base64 rather than referencing it. But it may be a price worth paying for the convenience (and perhaps security). It's very hard to advise on design decisions like this without having a full immersion in the project requirements and culture.