XML : To the Basics

What is XML?
XML stands for extensible markup language, a syntax that describes how to add structure to data. A markup
language is a specification that adds new information to existing information while keeping the two sets of
information separate. If it were as simple as that, I could describe XML to you in just a few articles.
However, XML is more complicated than that. It's a simple syntax that describes information, a set of
technologies that allows you to format and filter information independently of how that information is 
represented, and the embodiment of an idea that reduces data to its pures form, devoid of formatting and
other irrelevant aspects, to attain a very high level of usefulness and flexibility.
Oddly enough, XML is not a markup language. Instead, it defines a set of rules for creating markup langua
ges. There are many types of markup languages, the most popular of which is HTML(Hypertext Markup
Language: We have treated this topic in this blog already!), the publishing language of the internet.
HTML combines formatting information with a Web page's content so that you see the page in the way the
designer intended for you to see it.
The two most important elements that make HTML work are the HTML itself and software that's capable of
interpreting HTML. When you view a Web Page, your browser retrieves the page, interprets the HTML, and
displays the resulting document on your screen. The same two elements, XML itself and software that's cap
able of interpreting XML, are needed with XML.