textxml

TextXML is a lightweight data representation format that blends plain text readability with XML-like structure. It is designed for configurations, lightweight documents, and data interchange in environments where XML can be too verbose but some hierarchical tagging is still beneficial. TextXML aims to be simple to read by humans while remaining machine-parsable through a conventional element-and-tag model.

History and status: TextXML originated as an informal, niche format used in several open-source projects and internal tooling. It does not have a formal, universally adopted standard, and multiple implementations offer small variances in syntax and tooling. As a result, compatibility is typically dependent on the specific parser or converter being used.

Syntax and features: A TextXML document is composed of elements enclosed by start and end tags, with the option of self-closing tags. An opening tag may include attributes in the form name="value". Content can be plain text or nested elements, allowing hierarchical data. Comments follow the XML style <!-- comment -->, and whitespace is generally preserved within elements. Some implementations support a plain-text mode in which lines are treated as text nodes until a block tag introduces structure. Text content may use escaping for special characters, similar to XML entities.

Interoperability and tooling: Parsers commonly provide conversion to standard XML or to JSON, enabling integration with existing pipelines. Editors and validators vary by implementation, so documentation usually specifies supported features and limitations.

Example:

<book id="bk101" lang="en">

<title>Example Book</title>

<author>Jane Doe</author>

<chapter>Introduction</chapter>

<chapter>Getting Started</chapter>

</book>

See also: XML, YAML, JSON.