A file with the .xml extension consists of an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file, which is a plain text file that uses a series of custom tags to describe both the structure and other characteristics of the document.
What is XML and what does it consist of?
XML consists of a markup language created by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), in order to define a syntax for encoding documents that both users and the machines themselves may be able to read.
To do this, it does so by using a series of labels that define the structure of the document in question, as well as how it should be transported and stored.
We could compare it with another markup language with which we are possibly more familiar: hypertext markup language (HTML), used essentially for the encoding of web pages, and that uses a set of predefined markup symbols that describe the format who owns the content of a web page.
But one of the things that differentiates XML from HTML is that it is extensible . In other words, XML does not have a predefined markup language, but rather offers users the possibility of generating their markup symbols for the content description itself, creating a set of symbols that is characterized by being self-defined and unlimited.
For this reason, in an XML file we find both labels and text , and the labels provide structure to the data.
An example is found in the 2007 and later versions of Microsoft Office, which use XML for the structure of the document itself. In this way, every time we save a document in Word or Excel, for example, the file extension will contain an “X” at the end (thus, the extension will be “.docx”).
How to open an XML file?
Even for beginners, the reality is that working with XML files is pretty straightforward. In fact, there are different methods available to open an XML file. In many cases it will be enough to open it and edit it with a text editor . Or it is even possible to open and view it with the help of a web browser .
The steps to follow in Windows are quite simple. We just have to place the mouse over the XML file, right-click on it and select Open with from the contextual submenu that appears. Finally, we choose the Notepad option.
However, it is also possible to use any other option, such as the free Notepad ++ application.
