What is XML?
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a markup language that defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. It is widely used for storing and transporting data.
XML Formatting Options
- Beautify: Adds proper indentation and line breaks to make XML more readable for humans.
- Minify: Removes all unnecessary whitespace to reduce file size, ideal for production environments.
Common XML Uses
- Data Exchange: Used to share structured data across different systems
- Configuration Files: Many applications use XML for configuration settings
- Web Services: SOAP and many other web services use XML
- Document Formats: Many document formats are XML-based (like DOCX, SVG, XHTML)
- Data Storage: Used to store and organize data in a structured format
XML Structure Rules
- All XML elements must have a closing tag
- XML tags are case sensitive
- XML elements must be properly nested
- XML documents must have a root element
- Attribute values must be quoted
- Special characters must be escaped using entities