Extensible Markup Language (XML)¶
Extensible Markup Language (XML)
Extensible Markup Language, or XML, is a language for storing and delivering information on the World Wide Web. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), which is currently the most common language used in the creation of Web pages, has a limited capacity for storing information. XML has a much more flexible syntax, and can be used to describe virtually any kind of information, from a simple recipe to a complex database.
An XML document – in conjunction with a style sheet or a conventional HTML page - can easily be displayed in a Web browser. The information in the document is effectively structured and labelled, enabling the browser to find, extract, sort, filter, arrange, and manipulate that information in highly flexible ways. XML therefore provides an ideal solution for handling the rapidly expanding quantity and complexity of information that needs to be put on the Web. It can be used to describe virtually any type of document, and is ideal for passing information from one application to another.
Possible practical uses for XML include multimedia presentations, storing databases or vector graphics, structuring documents, describing software packages and their links, communicating between applications over the web, and the creation, management and use of complex digital forms for Internet commerce transactions. Such is its flexibility, it can also be used to format and exchange complex mathematical and scientific data, to write sheet music, to encode weather observation reports, and to store voice scripts for delivery by telephone.