[Bf-docboard] software tools 'XML'?

[bf-docboard@blender.org]

Quoting Joseph <joeeagar@prodigy.net>:

> Martin Middleton wrote:
> 
> > Actually, XML is a markup language, just like HTML, XHTML, and SGML.
> >
> > DocBook is general purpose XML and SGML document type particularly 
> > well suited to books and papers about computer hardware and software 
> > (though it is by no means limited to these applications).
>
< ... snip ... >
>
> But. . .XHTML is based off of XML.  XML is a markup language used to 
> define other markup languages.  Right?

Right!  XML is a strict subset of SGML.  XML and SGML are both often 
called "metalanguages", because they are used to describe other languages.
For example, a valid set of elements ("tags") in an XML file, and their
allowed nesting and attributes, can be defined in a Document Type 
Definition (DTD).

HTML is normally regarded as an SGML application, while XHTML is an
XML application.  Docbook itself comes in two varieties: one for SGML
and one for XML.  There's nothing "special" about HTML, XHTML or Docbook 
from the perspective of XML or SGML.  They are just common document types.  
Anyone can go out and define a new document type which conforms to XML 
and/or SGML standards.  The major benefit of XML over SGML is its greater
simplicity.  It's easier to parse XML than SGML because a smaller set of
features are supported.

Jonathan Merritt.
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