XML vs. XHTML: Key Differences Explained

XML and XHTML are both markup languages, but they have some key differences:

Purpose: XML is a general-purpose markup language used for describing data, while XHTML is a markup language based on HTML, used for displaying and laying out web pages.
Syntax: XML syntax is very strict, requiring all tags to have closing tags. XHTML syntax is similar to HTML, but requires that tags be properly nested, all tags be lowercase, and all attributes be enclosed in single quotes (' ').
Parsing: XML documents must be parsed by a parser to correctly read the data. XHTML documents can be parsed and rendered directly by web browsers.
Usage: XML is mainly used for data exchange and storage, while XHTML is primarily used for web page presentation and layout.