What is XML?

XML stands for extensible markup language. It is the base schema that is used by HTML, so you may already be familiar with XML.

XML Tags

XML contains tags. These are defined as something of importance. When it comes to Android, tags can be various user interface components such as a TextView (which is an element that renders text on the phone). A tag could look like <someTag>. Notice the starting < and closing >. These define our tags by wrapping around them.

Each tag contains a start and an end tag. Alternatively, some tags may be abbreviated (also known as self-closing). Let's take a look at what those look like:

A TextView that contains a start and end tag:

<TextView></TextView>

A TextView that is self-closing:

<TextView />

Let's consider a Button:

<Button></Button>

<Button />

Checking for Understanding

  • Each XML tag must be wrapped with special characters. What are they?
  • What is the primary difference between these two types of XML Tags?
  • Which of these two types appears easier (or more convenient) to write?

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