XML

eXtensible Markup Language

Medium — good to knowBackend

ELI5 — The Vibe Check

XML is like JSON's older, more verbose cousin. Instead of curly braces, it uses opening and closing tags like HTML. It was the go-to format before JSON took over. You mostly see it in legacy systems, SOAP APIs, and config files.

Real Talk

XML is a markup language that defines rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. It uses nested tags to represent hierarchical data structures. Once dominant for APIs, it has largely been replaced by JSON.

Show Me The Code

<user>
  <id>1</id>
  <name>Alice</name>
  <active>true</active>
</user>

When You'll Hear This

"The old payment gateway only accepts XML." / "Parse the XML response from their API."

Related Terms

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

JSON is the universal language the internet uses to pass data around. It looks like a JavaScript object — curly braces, key-value pairs.

beginnerBackend

Payload

Payload is the actual data carried in a request or response — the valuable cargo.

beginnerNetworking

Serialization

Serialization is turning a complex object in your code (like a User with methods and nested data) into a flat format that can be sent over the internet, li...

intermediateBackend

YAML (YAML)

YAML is a way to write structured data that actually looks like a human wrote it.

beginnerGeneral Dev

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