Differences Between XHTML and HTML
XHTML
Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) is a family of XML markup languages that mirror or extend versions of the widely used Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), the language in which Web pages are formulated.
While HTML, prior to HTML5, was defined as an application of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), a flexible markup language framework, XHTML is an application of XML, a more restrictive subset of SGML. XHTML documents are well-formed and may therefore be parsed using standard XML parsers, unlike HTML, which requires a lenient HTML-specific parser.
XHTML 1.0 became a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Recommendation on January 26, 2000. XHTML 1.1 became a W3C Recommendation on May 31, 2001. The standard known as XHTML5 is being developed as an XML adaptation of the HTML5 specification.
While HTML, prior to HTML5, was defined as an application of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), a flexible markup language framework, XHTML is an application of XML, a more restrictive subset of SGML. XHTML documents are well-formed and may therefore be parsed using standard XML parsers, unlike HTML, which requires a lenient HTML-specific parser.
XHTML 1.0 became a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Recommendation on January 26, 2000. XHTML 1.1 became a W3C Recommendation on May 31, 2001. The standard known as XHTML5 is being developed as an XML adaptation of the HTML5 specification.
HTML
HyperText Markup Language, commonly referred to as HTML, is the standard markup language used to create web pages.[1] It is written in the form of HTML elements consisting of tags enclosed in angle brackets (like <html>). HTML tags most commonly come in pairs like <h1> and </h1>, although some tags represent empty elements and so are unpaired, for example <img>. The first tag in a pair is the start tag, and the second tag is the end tag (they are also called opening tags and closing tags).
Web browsers can read HTML files and compose them into visible or audible web pages. Browsers do not display the HTML tags and scripts, but use them to interpret the content of the page. HTML describes the structure of a website semantically along with cues for presentation, making it a markup language, rather than a programming language.
HTML elements form the building blocks of all websites. HTML allows images and objects to be embedded and can be used to create interactive forms. It provides a means to create structured documents by denoting structural semantics for text such as headings, paragraphs, lists, links, quotes and other items. It can embed scripts written in languages such as JavaScript which affect the behavior of HTML web pages.
Web browsers can read HTML files and compose them into visible or audible web pages. Browsers do not display the HTML tags and scripts, but use them to interpret the content of the page. HTML describes the structure of a website semantically along with cues for presentation, making it a markup language, rather than a programming language.
HTML elements form the building blocks of all websites. HTML allows images and objects to be embedded and can be used to create interactive forms. It provides a means to create structured documents by denoting structural semantics for text such as headings, paragraphs, lists, links, quotes and other items. It can embed scripts written in languages such as JavaScript which affect the behavior of HTML web pages.
XHTML code
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns="http://www.google.com/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<title>Title of document</title>
</head>
<body>
some content
</body>
</html>
<html xmlns="http://www.google.com/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<title>Title of document</title>
</head>
<body>
some content
</body>
</html>
HTML code
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Title of document</title>
</head>
<body>
<html>
<head>
<title>Title of document</title>
</head>
<body>
some content
</body>
</html>
</body>
</html>
Summary
- XHTML uses an XML syntax, while HTML uses a pseudo-SGML syntax.
- XHTML's XML syntax is a little more expressive than HTML.
- XML is case-sensitive for element and attribute names, while HTML is not.
- XML rules require that all elements be closed, either by a separate closing tag or using self-closing syntax (e.g. <br />), while HTML syntax permits some elements to be unclosed.
