t's amazing how many developers claim to be proficient programming with XML, yet do not understand the basic differences between XML and HTML. Anyone with a fundamental grasp of XML should be able describe some of the main differences outlined in the table below.

Differences Between XML and HTML

XML

► User definable tags

► Content driven

► End tags required for well formed documents

► Quotes required around attributes values

► Slash required in empty tags

HTML

► Defined set of tags designed for web display

► Format driven

► End tags not required

► Quotes not required

► Slash not required