XMLDokuments

XMLDokuments are documents written in the Extensible Markup Language (XML) that encode data in a hierarchical, self-describing format.

An XMLDokument consists of a prolog, a single root element, and a tree of elements and attributes that can be read by humans and machines.

XML syntax requires well-formedness: elements must be properly nested and closed, tags are case sensitive, and character data must be encoded according to the document's character set.

To constrain structure and data types beyond well-formedness, schemas such as DTDs or XML Schemas (XSD) can be used, and namespaces prevent name collisions across documents.

Processing models include DOM, which builds an in-memory tree, and streaming parsers (SAX, StAX) that process data sequentially with lower memory usage.

XMLDokuments are widely used for data interchange, configuration files, and document storage, and they underpin many legacy and modern workflows across platforms.

Advantages include platform neutrality, readability, and broad tool support; drawbacks include verbosity, reliance on schemas for validation, and potential security risks such as external entity attacks if not mitigated.