Difference Between XML and HTML

XML and HTML are the markup languages defined for the distinct purposes and have several differences. The prior difference is that in XML there are provisions for defining new elements while HTML doesn’t provide a specification to define new element and it uses predefined tags. XML can be used to build markup languages while HTML itself is a markup language.

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) was designed to facilitate the transfer of web-based documents. Conversely, XML was developed for providing interoperability with SGML and HTML and ease of implementation.

Content: XML Vs HTML

1. 1. Comparison Chart
   2. Definition
   3. Key Differences
   4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for comparison	XML	HTML
Expands to	Extensible Markup Language	Hypertext Markup Language
Basic	Provides a framework for specifying markup languages.	HTML is predefined markup language.
Structural	Information Provided	Does not contain structural information
Language type	Case sensitive	Case insensitive
Purpose of the language	Transfer of information	Presentation of the data
Errors	Not allowed	Small errors can be ignored.
Whitespace	Can be preserved.	Does not preserve white spaces.
Closing tags	Compulsory to use closing tags.	Closing tags are optional.
Nesting	Must be properly done.	Not much valuable.

Definition of XML

XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a language that enables a user to define a representation of data or data structure where values are assigned in each field in the structure. IBM devised it as a GML (Generalized Markup Language) in 1960’s. When the IBM’s GML is adopted by ISO, it named as SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) and it was the foundation for the complex documentation system. XML language provides a platform to define markup elements and generate customized markup language. In XML to create a language or elements, one must follow some set of rules defined in the XML. The XML document includes data as strings and text which is surrounded by text markup. The fundamental unit in the XML is known as an element.

XML is well-formed and valid markup language. Here well-formed specifies that the XML parser could not pass the code if it is filled with syntax, punctuation, grammar errors. Additionally, it is only valid until it is well-formed and valid means that the element structure and the markup must match with a standard set of rules.

XML document involves two parts – prolog and body. The prolog part of the XML consist of administrative metadata such as XML declaration, optional processing instruction, Document type declaration and comments. The body part is partitioned into two parts – structural and the content (Present in the plain text).

Definition of HTML

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the markup language for constructing web pages. The markup commands employed in the web-based content signifies structure of the document and its layout to the browser. Browsers simply read the document with the HTML markup in it and render it on the screen through examining the placed HTML elements in the document. An HTML document is considered as a text file that holds the information need to be published.

The embedded instructions are known as elements which show the structuring and presentation of the document in the web browser. These elements are comprised of tags inside the angle bracket which surrounds some text. The tags usually come in a pair – beginning and ending tag.

Conclusion

XML and HTML markup languages are related to each other where HTML is used for the data presentation whereas the main purpose of XML was to store and transfer the data. HTML is a simple, predefined language while XML is the standard markup language to define other languages. XML document parsing is easy and fast.