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Do I need to learn both, HTML and XML?

If I learn HTML do I need to learn XML (and vice versa..)

Also explain the difference between the 2.

Thanks.

9 Comments

  1. jaxicle wrote:

    Although most of the answers here are good, and correct, you should also learn XHTML which is basically HTML using XML.

    http://www.webstandards.org/learn/articles/askw3c/oct2003/
    http://www.webstandards.org/learn/tutorials/common_ideas/
    http://www.webstandards.org/learn/external/xhtml/

    Everyone can tell you HTML is the way to go, and yes, it is the foundation of websites from Day One. Today, however, the web is going in a different direction other than tables (which are NOT meant to be used for layouts), frames (do NOT work in all browsers), and old tags that are depreciated.

    XHTML is on the brink of XHTML2, which means HTML 4.01 (in my opinion) is going to be a thing of the past. Just like CSS3 will make CSS1, somewhat obsolete, some things, I’m not saying totally.

    It’s a evolution in the web… simply put, learn HTML… but learn how it’s evolved into XHTML. Learn CSS and learn XML.

    Matter of fact learn as much as you can if programming is something you like to do or want to do. You can never learn enough in the web industry.

    Friday, May 21, 2010 at 4:24 am | Permalink
  2. debbs_lfc wrote:

    Personal preference really, html is easier and more widely used.
    Here are a few links to help.

    Friday, May 21, 2010 at 4:24 am | Permalink
  3. Albert L wrote:

    XML is good to know. It adds flexibility to your HTML code and can allow you to store and retrieve data without having database. You don’t hwve to know XML to program in HTML, but you do have to know HTML to learn XML.

    Friday, May 21, 2010 at 4:24 am | Permalink
  4. Erik H wrote:

    HTML is the one to start with, and you can add XML to your page later on. XML is used for RSS feeds and (I think) meta data.

    Friday, May 21, 2010 at 4:24 am | Permalink
  5. Niklaus Pfirsig wrote:

    HTML is a presentation discription language. It consists of instructions on how to display and print the page. XML is a language used to describe data. While they look similar, there is a major difference. All the tags (the text between < and > symbols) in HTML have a specific predefined meaning. Tags in XML are user-defined. HTML can stand alone, but if you use XML, it really helps to know HTML since it is commonly used to format XML data for viewing or printing.

    Example:
    You have an older car that uses the blinking lights to indicate diagnostic trouble codes from the engine computer. You also have a wireless network and a wireless pocket pc. You would like to be able to look-up the codes on your Pocket PC while you are in the garage working on your car. You can easily access you computer in the den over your wireless network, and view pages from your computer in the den by using IIS personal edition on the desktop and IE on the PPC.
    Now you could make a webpage for each of the hundreds of DT Codes, and create an index page with links to each of the pages, and do it all using only HTML.
    Or..
    You could build an XML file with the code number and description, use a simple CGI form to get the code, locate the code and return the description as an HTML page to be view on your PPC.
    Now say you get a second car that is a different brand and uses a different set of codes. With the HTML-only method you would need to create a completely new set of webpages and an index. With the XML method you would have to change 4 files.

    Friday, May 21, 2010 at 4:24 am | Permalink
  6. Einstein wrote:

    HTML and XML are two very important things. Do you need to learn both? Well, that’s up to you. Web pages are created with HTML; however, XML has nothing to do with a web page’s appearance. XML is essentially a universal method of data exchange.

    HTML stands for HyperTextMarkupLanguage. A HyperText language is one that lets the user move easily between different documents or aprts of the same document. This makes HTML a superb navigating tool for moving around the Web, which derives its name from the intricate complexity of its links. A markup language uses symbols to specify the appearance of a document. HTML calls these mark-up symbols tags. You can insert HTML tags into a page manually, or you cn use an HTML editor to create them. The way that editors generatge the tags automaticaly, gives you less control over a page’s appearance. Creating tags by hand furnishes an understanding of the relation between the tags and a page’s appearance. This knowlege lets you fine-tune the tags produced by an HTML editor.

    One of the most important requirements of Web applications, especially business to business (B2B) e-commerce applications, is the ability to intechange data in a standard format—that can be understood by any hardware and software platform. This need for a common interface for exchange data resulted int the evolution of Extensible Markup Language (XML).

    XML is specification for interchanging structured data in Web applications.. An XML document enables you to store data in the sam way a database enables you to store data. However, unlike database, and XML document stores data in the form of plain text, which can be understood by any type device, whether it is a mainframe computer, a palmstop, or a cell phone. Thus, XML sereves as a standard interface required for interchanging data between various Web applications.

    XML is a markup language that enables you to enclose data within tags. (Sound familiar?) So, how is it different from HTML? The difference lies in the fact that HTML has predefined elements that concentrate on the appearance of the contents within the document.

    Conversely, XML concentrates on the content in the document, and is not concerned with how the contents should appear. The tags in XML serve the purpose of structuring the content with the XML document, i.e., a hierarchical. No presentation or appearance is associated with any of the XML tags. XML does not provide any predefined tags—the way HTML does. Rather, it enables you to create your own tags. In that sense, XML can be called a meta-markup language, which enables you to create your own markup or vocabulary. In fact, many existing markup languages have been derived from XML. Some examples of languages that are based on XML are Wireless Markup Language (WML), which is used to create Web applications that can be accessed using a cell phone, and MathML, which is used to represent mathematical equations.

    ______________________

    Friday, May 21, 2010 at 4:24 am | Permalink
  7. Cool post, thanks for that. Do I need to learn both, HTML and XML? | Learn XML is cool! Could I consult the webmaster where he or she obtained his design? Or does it appear normal at this web log? Keep on posting and many thanks yet again for your time and efforts.

    Saturday, November 5, 2011 at 10:55 am | Permalink
  8. Nice article, many thanks for that. Do I need to learn both, HTML and XML? | Learn XML is cool! Might I question the website owner where he or she purchased his theme? Or does it appear standard at this site? Keep it up and bless you again for your time and efforts.

    Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 12:08 pm | Permalink
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