XML
CS 284 (CSA), Spring 2005
XML, the eXtensible Markup Language, is a general language
for expressing structured data. Like HTML, the base language for
writing web pages, XML uses "markup" tags (e.g.,
<code> and </code>) to express
structural information within text or data. Unlike HTML, a programmer
may define new tags in XML; the correct usage of tags is specified in
an XML Schema or a document type definition (DTD).
Created in 1999, XML is a strategic simplification of a more general
"markup" language called SGML, which is used for large-scale
documentation needs (e.g., a complete technical description of an
airliner). Applications of XML include the web, business-to-business
information transfer, and productivity applications (such as
OpenOffice and dia).
rab@stolaf.edu, April 25, 2005