Quickstart With XML: Part 1

What XML is



XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language. It is a text based markup language that uses the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). XML is a new programing language of the internet. It uses the tag to define data present in a web page. Tags provide specific meaning of the data. XML-coded data can go directly from a web page to a database without the need for middleware. It stores the data and specifies the data. XML will never replace HTML in the future, but it can generate new possibilities by creating new features of HTML. Example:



XMLTree

An XML document is always descriptive. The tree structure is often referred to as a XML Tree and plays an important role to describe any XML document easily. The tree structure contains root elements and child elements. By using a tree structure, you can understand all the succeeding branches and sub-branches starting from the root. The moves down the first branch to an element, take the first branch from there and so on to the leaf nodes.



Characteristics of XML that is used

• XML is extensible: XML allows you to make your own self-defining tags, that suits your app.
• XML carries data: XML allows you to store the data irrespective of how it will be presented.
• XML is a public standard: XML is sandardized by the organization known a the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
• XML provides a gateway for communication between applications, even applications on different systems. As long as applications can share data (using HTTP, file sharing, or another mechanism)
• It supports code allowing nearly any information in any written human language to be communicated.
• It can represent common data structures: records, lists and tree.

Uses of XML

• XML is used to store and arrange the data.
• XML can easily be merged with style sheets to create desired output.
• XML can be used to exchange the information between organizers and systems.
• XML can be use to simplify the creation of a HTML document.
• XML can be used for unloading and reloading a database.
• XML can express any type of XML document.

• XML is very flexible and you can transfer the data over HTTP or using email.
• XML works as ideal means to transfer the data.

Markup

XML is a markup language that defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format. It is both human-readable and machine-readable. Markup is information added to a document that increases its meaning in a certain way, it identifies the part and how it relates to each other.



Markup is a set of symbols that can be placed in a text of a document to separate clearly and label the part of that document.

A Example of XML markup is:

<message>
   <text>C-Sharp Corner</text>
</message>

The markup symbols or tags are <message> ...... </message> and <text> ...... </text>. The tags <message> ...... </message> marks the start and end of XML code. The tags <text> ...... </text> surround the text C-Sharp Corner.

XML is a Programming Language

A programming language consists of grammar rules and its own vocabulary to create computer programs. These programs instruct the computer to perform specific tasks. XML does not qualify as a programming language since it does not perform any problem-solving qualities or algothrims. It is usually stored in a simple text file and is processed by a special software that is capable of parsing the XML.