[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message]

Re: Is "XML" an abbreviation or an acronym?

• From: "Alexander Johannesen" <alexander.johannesen@g...>
• To: "Mukul Gandhi" <gandhi.mukul@g...>
• Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:08:07 +0200

On Sun, Aug 24, 2008 at 18:08, Mukul Gandhi <gandhi.mukul@g...> wrote:
>> Didn't you mean the opposite, that XML is a word made from the initial
>> letters of the phrase "eXtensible Markup Language", and hence an
>> acronym?
>
> The XML specification, http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/REC-xml-20060816/
> starts with, "Extensible Markup Language, abbreviated XML, describes"
> So the spec says, it's an abbreviation ...

No, the spec just states that the phrase is abbriviated XML. Any
acronym is also an abbreviated phrase.

The interesting part is that HTML spec 4.01
[http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/text.html#h-9.2.1] (as the OP asked
for) doesn't really know the difference either ;

   "acronyms such as "GmbH", "NATO", and "F.B.I.", as well as
abbreviations like "M.", "Inc.", "et al.", "etc."

In these examples XML falls into the abbr camp. But from a purely
pragmatic stance I'd recomend using <abbr> for whatever you think it
is, as browsers have better support for it. So there. :)


Alex
-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Project Wrangler, SOA, Information Alchemist, UX, RESTafarian, Topic Maps
------------------------------------------ http://shelter.nu/blog/ --------

• References:
  • Is "XML" an abbreviation or an acronym?
    • From: "Costello, Roger L." <costello@m...>
  • Re: Is "XML" an abbreviation or an acronym?
    • From: "Mukul Gandhi" <gandhi.mukul@g...>
  • Re: Is "XML" an abbreviation or an acronym?
    • From: "Alexander Johannesen" <alexander.johannesen@g...>
  • Re: Is "XML" an abbreviation or an acronym?
    • From: "Mukul Gandhi" <gandhi.mukul@g...>