What Data Structure Is Followed by XML?

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Heather Bennett

XML, or Extensible Markup Language, is a widely used data format for representing structured data. It is often used for data exchange between different systems. XML follows a hierarchical data structure that is similar to that of an HTML document.

XML Structure:

At the root of an XML document, we have the root element, which is the highest-level element in the hierarchy. All other elements are contained within this root element. The root element can have child elements, and those child elements can also have their own child elements, creating a hierarchical structure.

Within each element, we can define attributes. These attributes provide additional information about the element itself and are defined using key-value pairs. Attributes are written within the opening tag of an element.

Example:
“`

The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
1925

“`

In this example, `` is the root element with the attribute `category` set to “fiction”. It contains three child elements: ``, `<author>`, and `<year>`.</p> <p><u>Nested Elements:</u></p> <p>Elements within an XML document can be nested inside each other to represent complex structures. This nesting creates a parent-child relationship between elements.</p> <p><b>Example:</b><br /> “` <library> <book category="fiction"><br /> <title>The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
1925


Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah Harari
2011
“`

In this example, the `` element is the root element, and it contains two `` elements as its children. Each `` element represents a book in the library and has its own nested elements.

Lists:

XML also supports the use of lists using repeating elements. Repeating elements allow us to represent multiple occurrences of similar data within an XML structure.

Example:
“`

Apple
Banana
Orange

“`

In this example, the `` element contains three `` elements. Each `` element represents a different fruit in the list.

Subheaders:

XML does not have specific tags for subheaders like HTML. However, we can use different heading tags available in HTML to visually differentiate sections within an XML document when rendering it on a web page.

For example, we can use the

tag to represent a main section and use the

tag to represent sub-sections within that main section.

Example:
“`

Main Section

This is some content under the main section.

Sub Section

This is some content under the sub section.

“`

In this example, we have used the

tag for the main section and the

tag for a sub-section within that main section.

Overall, XML follows a hierarchical data structure where elements are nested inside each other. It supports attributes for additional information about elements and allows repeating elements for representing lists. Although XML does not have specific tags for subheaders, we can use HTML heading tags to visually organize and differentiate sections within an XML document when rendering it on a web page.

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