Differences between XML and HTML

  • XML and HTML were designed with different goals:XML is designed to carry data emphasizing on what type of data it is.
  • HTML is designed to display data emphasizing on how data looks
  • XML tags are not predefined like HTML tags.
  • HTML is a markup language whereas XML provides a framework for defining markup languages.
  • HTML is about displaying data,hence it is static whereas XML is about carrying information,which makes it dynamic.


  • XML tags are "invented" by the author of the XML document.HTML works with predefined tags like p tag, h1 tag, etc. While in XML, the author must define both the tags and the document structure.
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