XML and HTML are defined as markup languages for different purposes, also there is a difference between HTML and XML. The first difference is that XML has provisions for defining new elements, while HTML does not provide a specification for defining new elements in fact it uses predefined tags.
XML can be used to create markup languages while HTML itself is a markup language.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) was designed to facilitate the transfer of web-based documents. In contrast, XML was developed with SGML and HTML to provide interoperability and ease of implementation. In this, we will know the definition, comparison, and the difference between HTML and XML.
Introduction of XML and HTML
Definition of XML
XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a language that enables the user to define a representation of a data or data structure where values are specified in each field in the structure.
IBM formulated it as GML (Generalized Markup Language) in 1960. When IBM’s GML was adopted by ISO, it was named SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language). It was the foundation of a complex documentation system.
The XML language provides a platform for defining markup elements and generating customized markup languages. To create a language or element in XML one must follow the rules set in XML. The XML document contains data in the form of string and text. The basic entity in XML is known as Element.
Definition of HTML
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is a markup language for creating web pages. The markup command employed in web-based content shows the browser the structure of the document and its layout. In it, the browser reads the document with HTML markup and renders it on the screen by checking the HTML elements in the document. An HTML document is considered a text file that needs to publish information.
Embedded instructions are known as elements that show the structure and presentation of a document in a web browser. These elements are made up of tags inside the angle bracket that surround some text. Tags usually fall into a pair – beginning and ending tags.
Difference Between HTML and XML
Difference | XML | HTML |
1. Full-Form | Extensible Markup Language | Hypertext Markup Language |
2. Network Access | Information transfer | presentation data |
3. Objective | Markup provides a framework for specifying languages. | HTML is a predefined markup language. |
4. Errors | Errors are not allowed. | Minor errors can be ignored. |
5. Whitespce | Whitespace can be protected. | Does not preserve the whitespace. |
6. Close tag | Close tag is mandatory to use. | Here, Close tags are optional. |
7. Users | Nesting must be done properly. | Here, Nesting is not necessary. |
Key difference between HTML and xml
- XML is a text-based markup language that has a self-describing structure and can effectively define another markup language. On the other hand, HTML is a predefined markup language and has limited capabilities.
- XML provides the logical structure of the document while the HTML structure is predefined where the “Head” and “Body” tags are used.
HTML is insensitive. While XML is sensitive. - XML does not allow any errors if the code contains some errors so it cannot be parsed. Conversely, small errors in HTML can be ignored.
- Whitespace in XML is used for a specific function because XML treats each character. In contrast, HTML can ignore whitespace.
- A close tag is mandatory in XML, while open tag in HTML can also work perfectly.
- Nesting must be done correctly in XML, it has great importance in XML syntax. In contrast, HTML does not care much about nesting.
XML and HTML markup languages are related to each other where HTML is used for data presentation while the main purpose of XML was to store and transfer data. HTML is a simple, predefined language while XML is the standard markup language for defining other languages. Parsing XML documents is easy and fast.
The above was the main difference between HTML and XML. Share with your coding friends to make them know the difference between HTML and XML as well.
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