Markup

A markup language is one that is designed for defining and presenting text. {{glossary("HTML")}} (HyperText Markup Language), is an example of a markup language.

Within a text file such as an HTML file, elements are marked up using {{glossary("Tag","tags")}} which explain the purpose of that part of the content.

Types of markup language

• Presentational Markup:
  • : Used by traditional word processing system with WYSIWYG (what you see it is what you get); this is hidden from human authors, users and editors.
• Procedural Markup:
  • : Combined with text to provide instructions on text processing to programs. This text is visibly manipulated by the author.
• Descriptive Markup:
  • : Labels sections of documents as to how the program should handle them. For example, the HTML {{HTMLElement("td")}} defines a cell in a HTML table.

See also

• Related glossary terms:
  • {{Glossary("HTML")}}
  • {{Glossary("XHTML")}}
  • {{Glossary("XML")}}
  • {{Glossary("SVG")}}