Lesson 2: Authoring XML Documents

What is an XML document?

A basic XML document is simply an XML element that can—but might not—include nested XML elements.

For example, the XML <books> element is a valid XML document:

<books>
  <book isbn="0345374827">
    <title>The Great Shark Hunt</title>
    <author>Hunter S. Thompson</author>
  </book>
</books>

Authoring guidelines

There are several key things to remember when constructing a basic XML document:

• All elements must have an end tag.
• All elements must be cleanly nested (overlapping elements are not allowed).
• All attribute values must be enclosed in quotation marks.
• Each document must have a unique first element, the root node.

Try it!

In the text box below, create an XML document that contains both <element> and <attribute> nodes. Click the Well-formed? button to see whether your XML document conforms to the XML specification.