List of document markup languages

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The following is a list of document markup languages. You may also find the List of markup languages of interest.

Well-known document markup languages

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) – an ad hoc markup language that was originally created for the World Wide Web, took inspiration from the metalanguage SGML, and inspired many other markup languages
Keyhole Markup Language (KML/KMZ) – an XML-based markup language used to exchange geographic information, originally, for use with Google Earth and, now also, other map programs¹
Markdown – a simple, plain text markup language with multiple implementations, popular on blogs and content management systems²
Mathematical Markup Language (MathML) – a part of the HTML5 standard, an XML-based markup language used to describe mathematical notations as well as capturing their structure and content, intended to integrate mathematical formulae in the World Wide Web and other documents
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) – an XML-based vector image format for defining two-dimensional graphics that has support for animations and interactive content
TeX, LaTeX – a format for describing complex types and page layouts that is often used for mathematical, technical, and academic publications
Wiki markup – one of a number of often lightweight markup languages used on wikis such as Wikipedia or WikiWikiWeb
Extensible 3D (X3D) – a set of graphics file formats for declaratively representing 3D computer graphics that has support for interactive, network-capable content
Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML) – a markup language that mirrors HTML, written in the XML syntax
- XHTML Basic – a subset of XHTML for simple (typically mobile, handheld) devices, meant to replace the Wireless Markup Language (WML) and Compact HTML (C-HTML) markup languages, as well as XHTML's own Mobile Profile (XHTML MP)

Metalanguages

Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) – a metalanguage used to describe markup languages, of which XML and DocBook, as well as versions of HTML prior to HTML5 adhere to
Extensible Markup Language (XML) – now the base of hundreds³ of other markup languages and document formats, an application and more restrictive subset of SGML that was designed to be easier to implement than a full SGML parser

Lesser-known document markup languages

(including some lightweight markup languages)

ABC notation – markup language for music scores in pure text⁴
Amigaguide – the Amiga hypertext documentation format, including multimedia support
AsciiDoc – plaintext markup language similar to Markdown
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
Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) – modular open free format for technical and specialized documents
DocBook – format for technical (but not only) manuals and documentation
Encoded Archival Description (EAD)
Enriched text – for formatting e-mail text
GML
- Generalized Markup Language (GML) – the Document Composition Facility (DCF) product provides GMLSS, a starter set of GML tags implemented as a set of SCRIPT/VS macros.
- Geography Markup Language (GML)⁵ ⁶
- Gesture Markup Language (GML)⁷
- Graffiti Markup Language (GML)⁸
GNU TeXmacs format – used by the GNU TeXmacs document preparation system⁹
Guide Markup Language (GuideML) – used by the Hitchhiker's Guide site¹⁰
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) – a system for presenting online help and hypertext on IBM OS/2 systems, and the default help file format used by the cross-platform fpGUI Toolkit project
Journal Article Tag Suite (JATS) – a NISO standard of XML used to describe and publish STEM scholarly journal articles
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)
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
Parameter Value Language – stores mission data in NASA's Planetary Database System
Plain Old Documentation (POD) – a simple, platform-independent documentation tool for Perl ¹¹
Pillar – a markup syntax and associated tools to write and generate documentation written in Pharo ¹²
PUB – an early markup language with scripting support¹³
Remote Telescope Markup Language (RTML)
reStructuredText (reSt) – plaintext platform-independent markup used as Python libraries documentation tool, multiple output formats (HTML, LaTeX, ODT, EPUB, ...)¹⁴
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
Scribble – Markup language based on Racket ¹⁵ ¹⁶
Scribe – Brian Reid's seminal markup language
Script – early IBM markup language on which GML is built
Semantic, Extensible, Computational, Styled, Tagged markup language (SECST) – a more expressive and semantic alternative to Markdown that also transpiles to HTML¹⁷
Structured Information, Serialized Units (SiSU) – generalized markup language with several output formats¹⁸
SKiCal – a machine-readable format for the interchange of enhanced yellow-page directory listings
Skriv – lightweight markup language
Texinfo – GNU documentation format
Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) – guidelines for text encoding in the humanities, social sciences and linguistics
Textile – plaintext XHTML web text
Time Management Markup Language¹⁹ (TMML) – for Time Management and rarely used for mobile alarm in 2008
Typesetter roff (troff), GNU troff (groff)
Universal Document Output (UDO) – a lightweight markup language
Wireless Markup Language (WML), Wireless TV Markup Language (WTVML)
Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) – an XML based user interface markup language
Xupl – a C-style equivalent to XML

Office document markup languages

Compound Document Format
Microsoft Office 2003 XML formats – Microsoft's predecessor to the Office Open XML formats
Office Open XML (OOXML) – mainly developed by Microsoft, a standardized, open format for office documents that describes of a number of XML schemas, including the following:
- SpreadsheetML – a schema for representing spreadsheets and charts
- PresentationML – a schema for representing presentations
- WordprocessingML – a schema for representing word processing documents
- DrawingML – a supporting schema for representing charts, shapes, pictures, tables, diagrams, and document themes²⁰: 19
OpenDocument (ODF) – a standardized, open format for office documents originally conceived by a Technical Committee (TC) under the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) industry consortium
OpenOffice.org XML – a standardized, open format for office documents and the predecessor of the OpenDocument format
ReportML – report format language originating from Microsoft Access that, as of the 2016 edition, is not yet a part of Office Open XML standard
Rich Text Format (RTF) – though not a markup language per se, since it was never meant for intuitive and easy typing, a Microsoft format for exchanging documents with other vendors' applications²¹ ²²
Uniform Office Format (UOF) – an open format for office documents that is being harmonised with OpenDocument[as of?]

References

Google Developers: Keyhole Markup Language KML Reference. Accessed on 2013/03/15. https://developers.google.com/kml/documentation/kmlreference ↩
"Daring Fireball: Markdown". Archived from the original on 2004-04-02. Retrieved 2014-04-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20040402182332/http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/ ↩
Cover, Robin (ed.). "XML Applications and Initiatives". XML Cover Pages. Retrieved 16 November 2017. http://xml.coverpages.org/xmlApplications.html ↩
"Abc:standard [abc wiki]". http://abcnotation.com/wiki/abc:standard ↩
Open Geospatial Consortium, "Geography Markup Language", OGC accessed on 2013/03/15. http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/gml ↩
Geography Markup Language is an ISO standard (ISO 19136:2007). /wiki/List_of_International_Organization_for_Standardization_standards ↩
Gesture Markup Language GestureML Wiki Archived 2013-03-10 at the Wayback Machine. Extensible markup language used to define gestures that describe interactive object behavior and the relationships between objects in an application. Accessed on 2013/03/15. http://www.gestureml.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page ↩
Graffiti Markup Language Graffiti Markup Language. Designed to maximize readability and ease of implementation for even hobbyist programmers, artists and graffiti writers. Accessed on 2013/03/15. http://www.graffitimarkuplanguage.com ↩
"The TeXmacs format". https://www.texmacs.org/tmweb/manual/webman-format.en.html ↩
h2g2 https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/ ↩
"Perlpod - the Plain Old Documentation format - Perldoc Browser". http://perldoc.perl.org/perlpod.html ↩
"Documenting and Presenting with Pillar". Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160426015100/https://ci.inria.fr/pharo-contribution/job/EnterprisePharoBook/lastSuccessfulBuild/artifact/book-result/PillarChap/Pillar.html ↩
PUB Manual http://www.nomodes.com/pub_manual.html ↩
"ReStructuredText". 24 May 2016. http://docutils.sourceforge.net/rst.html ↩
Flatt, M.; Barzilay, E.; Findler, R. B. (2009). "Scribble: Closing the Book on Ad Hoc Documentation Tools". International Conference on Functional Programming. ↩
"Scribble: The Racket Documentation Tool". https://docs.racket-lang.org/scribble/ ↩
SECST Markup Language SECST Markup Language https://secst.org ↩
"≅ SiSU project sisudoc.org". http://www.sisudoc.org ↩
"TMML tutorial". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2019-10-29. https://sites.google.com/view/tmml ↩
ECMA-376-1:2016: Office Open XML File Formats — Fundamentals and Markup Language Reference (5th ed.). Ecma-international.org. Retrieved 8 March 2025. https://ecma-international.org/wp-content/uploads/ECMA-376-1_5th_edition_december_2016.zip ↩
RTF Pocket Guide by O'Reilly Media, retrieved 2010-03-13 https://www.scribd.com/doc/15490806/RTF-Pocket-Guide-by-OReilly-Media ↩
Sean M. Burke (July 2003). "RTF Pocket Guide". Amazon UK. Retrieved 2010-03-13. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/product-description/0596004753 ↩

Well-known document markup languages

Metalanguages

Lesser-known document markup languages

Office document markup languages

See also

References