As a Connexions author you will work with one or more XML languages to develop and organize your content. You do not need to be an expert in these languages in order to create and publish your work - we do our best to make it easy for you through the use of our editing tools and utilities - but it's always helpful to understand what's happening under the hood. If you are interested in learning more about the languages used by Connexions, please see the resources linked below.

• What is XML?
• Content Languages
  • CNXML
  • MathML
  • BibTeXML
  • QML
• Structural Languages
  • CollXML
  • MDML

What is XML?

XML - or eXtensible Markup Language - is a language used to describe the contents of a document. While most HTML or word processing documents tend to emphasize what the content should look like (for exmaple, <b>important text</b>), XML documents describe the what the content actually means (<emphasis>important text</emphasis>).

All XML documents are required to follow a common set of rules - for example, every opening tag (<emphasis>) must have a corresponding closing tag (</emphasis>), and tags must be closed in the reverse order in which they are opened (e.g. <para>This is <emphasis>really important text!</emphasis></para> and not <para>This is <emphasis>really important text!</para></emphasis>). Language specifications can be developed in order to create new XML languages designed for specific purposes, such as those described on this page.

Content Languages

The following languages can be used to create content in a Connexions module:

The Connexions Markup Language (CNXML) is the primary authoring language used for creating and editing modules in Connexions. This approach may seem awkward at first, but once you get comfortable with the language

CNXML 0.6

The latest version of CNXML is 0.6. Connexions has provided an upgrade help page for users wishing to convert their content from CNXML 0.5 to the latest version. You can read more about the changes introduced in CNXML 0.6 in this module, What's New in CNXML 0.6.

CNXML Help and Tutorials

There are several resources available to users wishing to learn more about the language. You can get help with specific tags from the Complete CNXML tag list.

There are also several language tutorials in the Connexions Documentation Lens. The Basic CNXML, The Intermediate CNXML, and The Advanced CNXML, may also be useful.

Structural Languages

The following languages are used to describe structures within Connexions modules and collections. These languages are not used by authors working within the Connexions environment, and these resources are provided only for those interested in third-party development.