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An Eagle's Eye View of XML

XML is a meta-markup language that allows users to define their own tags to break a document into semantic parts. It provides flexibility so that tags can be created for specific domains or purposes, rather than being limited to predefined tags. An XML document uses these custom tags to identify different elements, and related technologies help process and deliver the XML content.

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Sai Kuamr
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43 views1 page

An Eagle's Eye View of XML

XML is a meta-markup language that allows users to define their own tags to break a document into semantic parts. It provides flexibility so that tags can be created for specific domains or purposes, rather than being limited to predefined tags. An XML document uses these custom tags to identify different elements, and related technologies help process and deliver the XML content.

Uploaded by

Sai Kuamr
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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C H A P T E R

An Eagles Eye
View of XML

In This Chapter

his first chapter introduces you to XML. It explains in


general what XML is and how it is used. It shows you how
the different pieces of the XML equation fit together, and how
an XML document is created and delivered to readers.

What Is XML?
XML stands for Extensible Markup Language (often written as
eXtensibleMarkup Language to justify the acronym). XML is a
set of rules for defining semantic tags that break a document
into parts and identify the different parts of the document. It
is a meta-markup language that defines a syntax used to define
other domain-specific, semantic, structured markup languages.

XML Is a Meta-Markup Language


The first thing you need to understand about XML is that it
isnt just another markup language like the Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML) or troff. These languages define a fixed set
of tags that describe a fixed number of elements. If the markup
language you use doesnt contain the tag you need youre
out of luck. You can wait for the next version of the markup
language hoping that it includes the tag you need; but then
youre really at the mercy of what the vendor chooses to
include.
XML, however, is a meta-markup language. Its a language
in which you make up the tags you need as you go along.
These tags must be organized according to certain general
principles, but theyre quite flexible in their meaning. For
instance, if youre working on genealogy and need to describe people, births, deaths, burial sites, families, marriages,
divorces, and so on, you can create tags for each of these.
You dont have to force your data to fit into paragraphs, list
items, strong emphasis, or other very general categories.

What is XML?
Why are developers
excited about XML?
The life of an XML
document
Related technologies

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