| XML was
designed to describe data and to focus
on what data is.
HTML was designed to
display data and to focus on how data
looks.
What You Should Already Know
Before you continue you should have
a basic understanding of the following:
- HTML / XHTML
- JavaScript or VBScript
If you want to study these subjects
first, find the tutorials on our Home
page.
What is XML?
- XML stands for EXtensible
Markup Language
- XML is a markup language
much like HTML
- XML was designed to describe
data
- XML tags are not predefined. You
must define your own tags
- XML uses a Document Type Definition
(DTD) or an XML Schema to
describe the data
- XML with a DTD or XML Schema is
designed to be self-descriptive
- XML is a W3C Recommendation
XML is a W3C Recommendation
The Extensible Markup Language (XML)
became a W3C Recommendation 10. February
1998.
The Main Difference Between XML
and HTML
XML was designed to carry data.
XML is not a replacement for HTML.
XML and HTML were designed with different
goals:
XML was designed to describe data
and to focus on what data is.
HTML was designed to display data
and to focus on how data looks.
HTML is about displaying information,
while XML is about describing information.
XML Does not DO Anything
XML was not designed to DO anything.
Maybe it is a little hard to understand,
but XML does not DO anything. XML
was created to structure, store and
to send information.
The following example is a note to
Tove from Jani, stored as XML:
<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don't forget me this weekend!</body>
</note> |
The note has a header and a message
body. It also has sender and receiver
information. But still, this XML document
does not DO anything. It is just pure
information wrapped in XML tags. Someone
must write a piece of software to
send, receive or display it.
XML is Free and Extensible
XML tags are not predefined. You
must "invent" your own tags.
The tags used to mark up HTML documents
and the structure of HTML documents
are predefined. The author of HTML
documents can only use tags that are
defined in the HTML standard (like
<p>, <h1>, etc.).
XML allows the author to define his
own tags and his own document structure.
The tags in the example above (like
<to> and <from>) are not
defined in any XML standard. These
tags are "invented" by the author
of the XML document.
XML is a Complement to HTML
XML is not a replacement for HTML.
It is important to understand that
XML is not a replacement for HTML.
In future Web development it is most
likely that XML will be used to describe
the data, while HTML will be used
to format and display the same data.
My best description of XML is this:
XML is a cross-platform, software
and hardware independent tool for
transmitting information.
XML in Future Web Development
XML is going to be everywhere.
We have been participating in XML
development since its creation. It
has been amazing to see how quickly
the XML standard has been developed
and how quickly a large number of
software vendors have adopted the
standard.
We strongly believe that XML will
be as important to the future of the
Web as HTML has been to the foundation
of the Web and that XML will be the
most common tool for all data manipulation
and data transmission.
XML Joke
Question: When should I use XML?
Answer: When you need a buzzword
in your resume.
XML Basic
[XML
Tutorial] [XML
Introduction] [XML
How to use] [XML
Syntax] [XML
Elements] [XML
Attributes] [XML
Validation] [XML
Validator] [XML
Browsers] [XML
Viewing] [XML
CSS] [XML
XSL] [XML
Data Island] [XML
Parser] [XML
in Real Life]
XML Advance
[XML
Namespaces] [XML
CDATA] [XML
Encoding] [XML
Server] [XML
Application] [XML
HTTP Request] [XML
Save Data] [XML
Behaviors] [XML
Technologies] [XML
Editors] [XML
Summary]
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