Structured Documents
Structured documents are digital or physical documents organized with a defined format, such as XML, JSON, or HTML, that use tags, schemas, or markup to separate content from presentation and enable machine readability. This concept is fundamental in web development, data interchange, and content management systems, allowing for consistent parsing, validation, and transformation of information. It contrasts with unstructured documents like plain text or images, which lack explicit formatting rules.
Developers should learn about structured documents to handle data serialization, API development, and content rendering in applications, as they are essential for interoperability between systems and efficient data processing. Use cases include creating web pages with HTML, exchanging data via JSON or XML in APIs, and managing content in CMS platforms like WordPress or Drupal, where structured formats ensure scalability and maintainability.