Extensible Markup Language is popularly known as XML, is a text-based markup language. XML is highly designed to make it easier for storage and transport of data. Many people have this wrong assumption that XML is the replacement for HTML. XML is intended purely to be self-descriptive and carry the data and not display the data.

If XML tags are not pre-defined, you must define your tags. XML is also platform and language independent. XML is derived from SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language). XML tags mainly focus on the identification of the data and help to store and organize them.

XML has three critical characteristics that make it very useful.
 

• XML provides you with the free power of creating self-descriptive tags or languages that best suits your application. Hence XML is Extensible.
• XML is purely devoted to carrying the data rather than displaying it.
• XML is an open-source software developed by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium).

XML is very much helpful in simplifying the creation of HTML documents for various websites. It is utilized for offloading and reloading the databases. It allows you to exchange details between systems and organizations. XML is highly useful in data handling as it will enable you to customize them and also helps store and organize the data.

XML is capable of merging the style sheets and creating desired outputs. You will be able to express any data into an XML document virtually. XML allows you to encode a document into a format that is both human and machine-readable by defining a set of rules. Markup language functions in a way where it helps you identify the purpose of the text entered. It highlights the information through its tags.

XML can’t be considered as a programming language as it doesn’t compile anything or processes any algorithms. It is a simple text document processed by the software capable of interpreting these XML documents and executing their purpose.

XML syntax rules revolve around the XML declaration, references, tags and elements, attributes, and texts. XML declaration begins with “<?xml> where “xml” should be in lower-cases as XML is case-sensitive. If you want to execute an XML document, you must strictly follow the XML declaration rules. It should be the first statement of the document to identify the document as the XML file and execute it.

XML elements or tags are defined between triangular brackets “<>”. To define or highlight your text according to your tags, you must also enclose them between the start and end tags. For example, to define an element, it must be done between an open tag “<element>” and close tag “</element>”. You can also implement the nesting in XML. You can implement multiple XML elements under the main XML elements, but you should ensure no overlapping is done. 

The correct format for writing an XML element is by introducing the root element. You must always remember that XML elements are case-sensitive. The element name should be the same when declared at the start and end tags. For example, the tag <element> is different from the tag </Element>. 

XML also introduces the attributes that specify the single property for the element. XML attributes are case-sensitive unlike HTML. It is suggested not to assign two values to the same attribute as incorrect syntax and throw an error.

There are more important concepts that you must know if you want to learn XML thoroughly. To understand XML in-depth and for free, enrol in Great Learning Academy’s Free XML Courses and earn free XML certificates on the successful completion of the registered courses.