I just read this days newsletter from OGC, containing some news on the release of a simple profile of the GML v3.1.1 standard. From the standard one can read the following in the introduction:

This profile defines a restricted but useful subset of XML-Schema and GML to lower the “implementation bar” of time and resources required for an organization to commit for developing software that supports GML. [...] this profile facilitates the ability to use WFS for interoperable feature data exchange with much less software development investment.

The GML standard is a big and complex standard, and I really think this is a great move by the OGC. This is a 30 page long specification (well 117 if you include the annex), and it's nothing compared to the 267 (601) pages full GML spec.

Hopefully we'll see more GML support in the future. At least this finally got me started with implementing GML/WFS support into SharpMap.

Well, while I'm at it, if you want to know more on the GML specification, I can recommend the book "Geography Markup Language, Foundation for the Geo-Web" by Ron Lake from Wiley.