Document Map 

The following section describes each of the components of an XML 1.0 document.

Definition Description

Elements [XML Standards]

Discusses what XML elements are and requirements for working with them in XML documents.

Prolog [XML Standards]

Outlines the order and contents of the initial prolog or XML document header in an XML document.

XML Declaration [XML Standards]

Explains what the XML declaration is and its required placement if included in XML documents.

Processing Instructions [XML Standards]

Discusses what processing instructions are in XML documents and their most frequent use, as a means of linking to an XML stylesheet in the prolog of an XML document.

DOCTYPE Declaration [XML Standards]

Discusses what the DOCTYPE declaration is and how it is used to reference an external or internal Document Type Definition (DTD) for XML documents that include it.

XML Comments [XML Standards]

Explains how comments can be made in XML markup as a means of annotating and as a mechanism for including unparsed content in the XML document.

Textual Content [XML Standards]

Outlines the rules for use and inclusion of textual content (also known as character data) in XML documents.

Character and Entity References [XML Standards]

Describes XML character entities for escaping special or reserved characters that are used to delineate markup and node boundaries within the XML document.

CDATA Sections [XML Standards]

Describes the use of the XML-specific CDATA (character data) sections for fully escaping text contents (including formatting or white space contents) in XML documents.

Attributes [XML Standards]

Discusses what XML attributes are and requirements for working with them in XML elements.

White Space [XML Standards]

Discusses the rules and options for how white space can be handled when parsing XML documents.

See Also

Concepts

XML Standards Reference