Appendix B: Introduction to XML

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The Basics

XML is an acronym for Extensible Markup Language. It is simply a language specification for documents that describe and contain data. XML's designers have attempted to combine the simplicity and the ubiquity of HTML with the rich descriptive capabilities of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). HTML and XML are, in fact, both SGML document types.

An XML document is a text file that conforms to the XML language specification. It contains data in a structured format and descriptive information about the data. The primary role of an XML document is to present data generated by one application (or system) to another. Consequently, XML documents are well suited as general-purpose data repositories and data transport containers.

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