Document Definition Markup Language (DDML) ~ Iwebslog Blog

A graphical despiction of a very simple xhtml document (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Document Definition Markup Language (DDML) is an XML schema language proposed in 1999 by various contributors from the xml-dev electronic mailing list. It was published only as a W3C Note, not a Recommendation, and never found favor with developers.

DDML began as XSchema, a reformulation of XML DTDs as full XML documents, so that elements and attributes, rather than declarations, could be used to describe a schema. As development continued, the name was changed to DDML, reflecting a shift away from the goal of replicating all DTD functionality, in order to concentrate on providing a robust framework for describing basic element/attribute hierarchy. DDML offered no datatypes or functionality beyond what DTDs already provided, so there was not much advantage to using DDML instead of DTDs. DDML did, however, inform the development of the next generation of XML-based schema languages, including the more successful XML Schema and RELAX NG.

Well-known document markup languages

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) – the original markup language that was defined as a part of implementing World Wide Web, an ad hoc defined language inspired by the meta format SGML and which inspired many other markup languages.
Keyhole Markup Language (KML/KMZ) - the XML-based markup language used for exchanging geographic information for use with Google Earth.
Mathematical Markup Language (MathML)
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)
TeX, LaTeX – a format for describing complex type and page layout often used for mathematics, technical, and academic publications.
Wiki markup – used in Wikipedia, MediaWiki and other Wiki installations.
Extensible 3D (X3D)
Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML): HTML reformulated in XML syntax.
- XHTML Basic – a subset of XHTML for simple (typically mobile, handheld) devices. It is meant to replace WML, and C-HTML.
- XHTML Mobile Profile (XHTML MP) – a standard designed for mobile phones and other resource-constrained devices.

Lesser-known document markup languages

ABC notation - markup language for music scores in pure text.
Amigaguide – Amiga documentation format.
Chemical Markup Language (CML)
Compact HyperText Markup Language (C-HTML) – used for some mobile phones.
Computable Document Format - used for interactive technical documents.
ConTeXt – a modular, structured formatting language based on TeX.
Crossmark – common markup with macros.
Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA)
DocBook – format for technical (but not only) manuals and documentation.
eLML – eLesson Markup Language: create eLearning content
Encoded Archival Description (EAD)
Enriched text – for formatting e-mail text.
GML Disambiguation
- Generalized Markup Language (GML)
- Geography Markup Language (GML)
- Gesture Markup Language (GML)
- Graffiti Markup Language (GML)
Guide Markup Language (GuideML) – used by the Hitchhiker's Guide site.
Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML) – designed for smartphones and handheld computers.
Help Markup Language (HelpML)
Hypermedia/Time-based Structuring Language (HyTime)
HyperTeX – for including hyperlinks in TeX (and LaTeX) documents.
Information Presentation Facility (IPF) – is a system for presenting online help and hypertext on IBM OS/2 systems. It is also the default help file format used by the cross-platform fpGUI Toolkit project.
LilyPond – a system for music notation.
LinuxDoc – used by the Linux Documentation Project.
Lout – a document formatting functional programming language, similar in style to LaTeX.
Maker Interchange Format (MIF)
Markdown - simple plaintext markup popular as language of blog/cms posts and comments, multiple implementations, used to generate HTML.
Microsoft Assistance Markup Language (MAML)
Music Encoding Initiative (MEI)
Music Extensible Markup Language (MusicXML)
Open Mathematical Documents (OMDoc)
OpenMath – a markup language for mathematical formulae which can complement MathML.
Plain Old Documentation (POD) – a simple, platform-independent documentation tool for Perl.
Remote Telescope Markup Language (RTML)
reStructuredText (reSt) - plaintext platform-independent markup used as Python libraries documentation tool, multiple output formats (HTML, LaTeX, ODT, EPUB, ...)
Retail Template Markup Language (RTML) – e-commerce language which is based on LisP.
Revisable-Form Text (RFT) – part of IBM's Document Content Architecture to allow transfer of formatted documents to other systems.
S1000D – international specification for technical documentation related to commercial or military; aerospace, sea or land; vehicles or equipment.
Scribe – Brian Reid's seminal markup language
Script – Early IBM markup language on which GML is built.
SKiCal - a machine-readable format for the interchange of enhanced yellow-page directory listings.
Texinfo – GNU documentation format.
Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) – Guidelines for text encoding in the humanities, social sciences and linguistics.
troff (typesetter runoff), groff (GNU runoff)
Wireless Markup Language (WML), Wireless TV Markup Language (WTVML)
Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) XML based user interface markup language
Xupl – a C-style equivalent to XML.
Z Format – an open, document and typesetting language inspired by TeX.