Extensible Markup Language

Synonyms

XML

Definition

Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a simple, very flexible text format derived from standard generalized markup language (SGML) (ISO 8879). Originally designed to meet the challenges of large-scale electronic publishing, XML is also playing an increasingly important role in the exchange of a wide variety of data on the web and elsewhere. XML is defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Main Text

XML is a standard for the modeling of data using a tree structure. It consists of rules defining the structure of documents that can store data consistent with the defined structure. XML therefore is a framework for the definition of data structures without describing how an actual document can be processed.

For programs able to process XML, the elements of the documents have to be described in a detailed way. This is especially important for the definition of structural elements and their order inside the document. For this purpose, XML offers two alternatives....