XML CDATA: Understanding and Utilizing CDATA Sections in XML Documents
Introduction to XML CDATA
XML, or Extensible Markup Language, is a markup language that defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. XML is widely used for storing and transporting data, and it plays a crucial role in various applications, including web development, data interchange, and more. One of the key features of XML is its ability to handle special characters and markup symbols within the text data. This is where XML CDATA sections come into play.
What is CDATA in XML?
CDATA stands for Character Data. In XML, CDATA sections are used to escape blocks of text that contain characters which would otherwise be interpreted as XML markup. CDATA sections are particularly useful when the text contains characters that are reserved in XML, such as angle brackets (<
and >
), ampersands (