XML by Example

A First Look at the XML Syntax

If I had to summarize XML in one sentence, it would be something like “a

set of standards to exchange and publish information in a structured man-

ner.” The emphasis on structure cannot be underestimated.

XML is a language used to describe and manipulate structured documents.

XML documents are not limited to books and articles, or even Web sites,

and can include objects in a client/server application.

However, XML offers the same tree-like structure across all these applica-

tions. XML does not dictate or enforce the specifics of this structure—it

does not dictate how to populate the tree.

XML is a flexible mechanism that ...