Standard Generalized Markup Language

(S-G-M-L)

A script language which defines the structure of documents. SGML is the parent of HTML, the script language most often used on the WWW.

SGML allows information to be shared and re-used by applications on differing computer platforms by sending "documents" between them. Both the data structure and the data itself are in the transmitted document. This allows a neutral format for data transmission. The structure of the document is defined in a DTD. The DTD can be thought of as the field definitions in a database if you like (it's not a exact analogy but works for some).

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