Difference Between XML and HTML

By : Lucas Bennett Lucas Bennett
Hours Updated

Key Differences between XML vs HTML

  • XML is an abbreviation for Extensible Markup Language, whereas HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language.
  • XML mainly focuses on the transfer of data, while HTML focuses on the presentation of the data.
  • XML is content-driven, whereas HTML is format-driven.
  • XML is case-sensitive, while HTML is case-sensitive.
  • XML provides namespace support, while HTML doesn’t provide namespace support.
  • XML is strict for the closing tag, while HTML is not strict.
  • XML tags are extensible, whereas HTML has limited tags.
  • XML tags are not predefined, whereas HTML has predefined tags.

Difference between XML and HTML
Difference between XML and HTML

Here, I have analyzed the difference between XML and HTML and will comprehensively evaluate their pros and cons.

What is XML?

XML is a markup language that is designed to store data. It is popularly used for the transfer of data. It is case-sensitive. XML offers you the ability to define markup elements and generate customized markup language. The basic unit in XML is known as an element. The extension of XML files is.xml.

What is HTML?

HTML is the markup language that helps you create and design web content. It has a variety of tags and attributes for defining the layout and structure of the web document. It is designed to display data in a formatted manner. An HTML document has the extension .htm or .html.

You can edit HTML code with any basic code editor, even Notepad. The edited code can be executed in any browser. Browsers render the tags used and present the content you want to display, with or without applied formatting.

What is the Difference between XML and HTML?

The key difference between XML and HTML is that XML is a framework for specifying markup languages (stores and transfers data). In contrast, HTML is a predefined markup language (describes the structure of a webpage).

Features of XML

Reflecting on my work, I have noted the following features of XML:

Google Trends HTML vs XML
Google Trends: HTML vs XML

  • XML tags are not predefined. You need to define your customized tags.
  • XML was designed to carry data, not display that data.
  • The markup code of XML is easy for humans to understand.
  • A well-structured format makes it easy to read and write from programs.
  • XML is an extensible markup language like HTML.

Features of HTML

I have worked extensively with HTML, and here are its main features:

Features of HTML
Stack Overflow Questions HTML vs XML

  • It is a simple language that supports the authoring of web pages.
  • Rich enough to provide support for multimedia embedding in documents
  • Flexible enough to support hypertext linking

Example of XML

<?xml version = "1.0"?>
<contactinfo>
    <address category = "institute">
        <name>Krishna Rungta</name>
        <institute>Guru99</institute>
        <mobile>9898613050</mobile>
        <email>krishnaguru99@gmail.com </email>
        <birthdate>1985-09-27</birthdate>
    </address>
</contactinfo>

Output:

Krishna Rungta 
Guru99 
9898613050
krishnaguru99@gmail.com 
1985-09-27

Example of HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Guru99.com</title> </head>
<body>
<hl>Meet Guru99: Free Training Tutorials & Tools Review</hl>
<p>Guru99 is totally new kind of learning experience.</p> </body>
</html>

Output:

Meet Guru99: Free Training Tutorials & Tools Review
Guru99 is totally new kind of learning experience.

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Difference between XML and HTML

Here is the difference between XML and HTML, from my own experience:

HTML vs XML
HTML vs XML

Parameter XML HTML
Type of language XML is a framework for specifying markup languages. HTML is a predefined markup language.
Language type Case sensitive Case insensitive
Structural details It is provided. It is not provided.
Purpose Transfer of data Presentation of the data
Coding Errors No coding errors are allowed. Small errors are ignored.
Whitespace You can use whitespaces in your code. You can’t use white spaces in your code.
Nesting It should be done appropriately. Does not have any effect on the code.
Driven by XML is content-driven. HTML is format-driven.
End of tags The closing tag is essential in a well-formed XML document. The closing tag is not always
required. <HTML> tag needs an equivalent </HTML> tag but <br> tag does not require </br> tag
Quotes Quotes required around XML attribute values? Quotes are not required for the values of attributes.
Object support Objects have to be expressed by conventions. Mostly using attributes and elements. Offers native object support
Null support You need to use xsi:nil on elements in an XML instance document and also import the corresponding namespace. Natively recognizes the null value.
Namespaces XML provides support for namespaces. It helps you remove the risk of name collisions when combining them with other documents. Does not support the concept of namespaces. Naming collisions can be avoided either by using a prefix in an object member name or by nesting objects.
Formatting decisions It requires more significant effort to map application types to XML elements and attributes. Provides direct mapping for application data.
Size Documents are mostly lengthy in size, especially when an element-centric approach is used in formatting. The syntax is very brief and yields formatted text.
Parsing in Javascript It requires an XML DOM implementation and application code to map text back into JavaScript objects. No extra application code is required to parse text. For this purpose, you can use the eval function in JavaScript.
Learning curve It is very hard, as you need to learn technologies like XPath, XML Schema, DOM, etc. HTML is a simple technology stack that is familiar to developers.

Advantages of XML

Here, as I have personally noted, are the significant advantages of XML:

  • Makes documents transportable across systems and applications. With the help of XML, you can exchange data quickly between different platforms.
  • XML separates the data from HTML.
  • simplifies the platform change process.

Advantages of HTML

Here are some benefits of the HTML language that I have discovered:

  • HTML document browser interfaces are simple to build.
  • It works across a system that is otherwise unrelated.
  • HTML is easy to understand because it has a very simple syntax.
  • You can use many tags to make a webpage.
  • Allows you to use various colors, objects, and layouts.

Disadvantages of XML

Based on my knowledge, here are a few shortcomings of XML:

  • XML requires a processing application.
  • The XML syntax is very similar to other alternative ‘text-based’ data transmission formats, which is sometimes confusing.
  • There is no intrinsic data type support.
  • The XML syntax is redundant.
  • Does not allow the user to create his tags.

Disadvantages of HTML

Here, from my experience, are a few drawbacks of HTML:

  • HTML lacks syntax checking and structure.
  • HTML is not suitable for data interchange.
  • HTML is not context-aware.
  • HTML doesn’t allow us to describe the information content or the semantics of the document.
  • HTML is not object-oriented, so it is not an extensible and very unstable language.
  • Data storage and interchange are not possible using HTML.

Version History of HTML and XML

History of HTML

Version Year
HTML 1991
HTML 2.0 1995
HTML 3.2 1997
HTML 4.0 1997
HTML 4.01 1999
XHTML 2000
HTML 5 2014
HTML 5.1 2016
HTML 5.2 2017

History of XML

Version Year
XML 1.0 1998
XML 1.1 2004

How to Choose Between XML and HTML

In my view, XML and HTML serve distinct purposes beautifully; XML facilitates data transportation with its flexibility in tag creation, while HTML excels in presenting data on the web with predefined tags, enhancing the ease of use.