eXtensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 (Second Edition)

The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a subset of SGML that is completely described in this document. Its goal is to enable generic SGML to be served, received, and processed on the Web in the way that is now possible with HTML. XML has been designed for ease of implementation and for interoperability with both SGML and HTML. Status of this document This section describes the status of this document at the time of its publication. Other documents may supersede this document. A list of current W3C publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be found in the W3C technical reports index at http://www.w3.org/TR/. This document specifies a syntax created by subsetting an existing, widely used international text processing standard (Standard Generalized Markup Language, ISO 8879:1986(E) as amended and corrected) for use on the World Wide Web. It is a product of the XML Core Working Group as part of the XML Activity. On 29 September 2006 this document was edited in place to remove a number of spurious and potentially misleading spaces. The English version of this specification is the only normative version. However, for translations of this document, see http://www.w3.org/2003/03/Translations/byTechnology? technology=xml11. This document is a W3C Recommendation. This second edition is not a new version of XML. As a convenience to readers, it incorporates the changes dictated by the accumulated errata (available at http://www.w3.org/XML/xml-V11-1e-errata) to the First Edition of XML 1.1, dated 4 February 2004. In addition, the markup introduced to clarify when prescriptive keywords are used in the formal sense defined in [IETF RFC 2119], has been modified to better match the intent of [IETF RFC 2119]. This edition supersedes the previous W3C Recommendation of 4 February 2004. Please report errors in this document to the public xml-editor@w3.org mailing list; archives are available. For the convenience of readers, an XHTML version with color-coded revision indicators is also provided; this version highlights each change due to an erratum published in the errata list, together with a link to the particular erratum in that list. Most of the errata in the list provide a rationale for the change. The errata list for this second edition is available at http://www.w3.org/XML/xml-V11-2e-errata. An implementation report is available at http://www.w3.org/XML/2006/06/xml11-2e-implementation.html. A Test Suite is maintained to help assessing conformance to this specification. This document has been reviewed by W3C Members, by software developers, and by other W3C groups and interested parties, and is endorsed by the Director as a W3C Recommendation. It is a stable document and may be used as reference material or cited from another document. W3C's role in making the Recommendation is to draw attention to the specification and to promote its widespread deployment. This enhances the functionality and interoperability of the Web. This document is governed by the 24 January 2002 CPP as amended by the W3C Patent Policy Transition Procedure. W3C maintains a public list of any patent disclosures made in connection with the deliverables of the group; that page also includes instructions for disclosing a patent. An individual who has actual knowledge of a patent which the individual believes contains Essential Claim(s) must disclose the information in accordance with section 6 of the W3C Patent Policy. Extensible Markup Language (XML) ii