A user interface markup language is a

markup language A markup language is a Encoding, text-encoding system which specifies the structure and formatting of a document and potentially the relationships among its parts. Markup can control the display of a document or enrich its content to facilitate au ...

that renders and describes

graphical user interface A graphical user interface, or GUI, is a form of user interface that allows user (computing), users to human–computer interaction, interact with electronic devices through Graphics, graphical icon (computing), icons and visual indicators such ...

s and controls. Many of these markup languages are dialects of

XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing data. It defines a set of rules for encoding electronic document, documents in a format that is both human-readable and Machine-r ...

and are dependent upon a pre-existing

scripting language In computing, a script is a relatively short and simple set of instructions that typically automation, automate an otherwise manual process. The act of writing a script is called scripting. A scripting language or script language is a programming ...

engine, usually a

JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language and core technology of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. Ninety-nine percent of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior. Web browsers have ...

engine, for rendering of controls and extra scriptability. The concept of the user interface markup languages is primarily based upon the desire to prevent the " re-invention of the wheel" in the design, development and function of a user interface; such re-invention comes in the form of coding a script for the entire user interface. The typical user interface markup language solidifies often re-used program or script code in the form of markup, making it easier to focus upon design of a user interface in an understandable dialect as opposed to focus on function. User interface markup languages, like most markup and programming languages, rely upon sub-application runtimes to interpret and render the markup code as program code that can be processed and put out in the desired form. In XML-based user interface markup languages, the markup is usually interpreted and represented as a tree of nodes that may be manipulated at runtime by the application's code or dynamically loaded user script.

User interface markup languages

HTML

HTML Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It defines the content and structure of web content. It is often assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets ( ...

which stands for HyperText Markup Language is a markup language used for building web pages to be displayed in a

web browser A web browser, often shortened to browser, is an application for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's scr ...

. It is often combined with CSS (for styling) and

(for interactivity). Most websites in the world are built using HTML as it is the standard language supported by web browsers.

XFD

XFD, which stands for XML Form Definition is the user interface markup language behind STARLIMS product

, developed by Abbott Informatics. STARLIMS product has an entire ecosystem of runtime and design time tools to run and create visual forms using XFD language. STARLIMS v10 is powered by an XFD runtime developed using Microsoft .NET Framework and hosted in Internet Explorer browser. STARLIMS v11 introduces an additional XFD engine based on a server-side transformation engine that transforms the XFD into HTML5 compatible data designed to run on any HTML5 compliant browser. XFD is programmable in JavaScript based language.

QML

QML is a cross-platform markup language for creating hardware-accelerated OpenGL-powered user interfaces for devices ranging from mobile to desktop. QML interfaces are manipulated using the JavaScript language. QML is part of the Qt software framework.

MXML

MXML is the XML-based user interface markup language introduced by Macromedia in March 2004. It is now part of the

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

(http://opensource.adobe.com) Adobe Flex SDK version 4. MXML files compile into Flash SWF via the Flex SDK, and are rendered either on the web browser, via

Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a mostly discontinuedAlthough it is discontinued by Adobe Inc., for the Chinese market it is developed by Zhongcheng and for the international enterprise market it is developed by Ha ...

plug-in, or as stand-alone cross-platform applications, via the open-source Adobe AIR SDK.

UIML

OASIS UIML is an XML-based standard user interface markup languages. It is an

open standard An open standard is a standard that is openly accessible and usable by anyone. It is also a common prerequisite that open standards use an open license that provides for extensibility. Typically, anybody can participate in their development due to ...

where implementation is not restricted to a single vendor.

XUL

The primary interface language of Mozilla Foundation products is XUL. XUL documents are rendered by the

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engine, which also renders

XHTML Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML) is part of the family of XML markup languages which mirrors or extends versions of the widely used HyperText Markup Language (HTML), the language in which Web pages are formulated. While HTML, pr ...

and SVG documents. It cooperates with many existing standards and technologies, including CSS,

, DTD and RDF.

UsiXML

UsiXML (which stands for User Interface Extensible Markup Language) is an XML-compliant markup language that describes the UI for multiple contexts of use such as Character User Interfaces (CUIs), graphical user interfaces (GUIs), Auditory User Interfaces, and Multimodal User Interfaces. In other words, interactive applications with different types of interaction techniques, modalities of use, and computing platforms can be described in a way that preserves the design independently from peculiar characteristics of physical computing platform.

WTKX

WTKX is an XML-based markup language used for building Apache Pivot applications. Though it is most commonly used for defining the structure of an application's user interface, it can be used to declaratively construct any type of Java object hierarchy.

XAL

eXtensible Application Language is the Markup language of Nexaweb's Enterprise Web 2.0 Suite. Developers can use this language to define applications that will run as a

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

Client or an

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

Client.

SVG

Scalable Vector Graphics is a markup language for graphics proposed by the W3C that can support rich graphics for web and mobile applications. While SVG is not a user interface language, it includes support for vector/raster graphics, animation, interaction with the DOM and CSS, embedded media, events and scriptability. When these features are used in combination, rich user interfaces are possible. SVG can also be superimposed upon another XML-compatible user interface markup language, such as XUL and XForms, as the graphics-rich portion of a user interface.

TUIX

TUIX is an XML based markup language for defining user interfaces in Tribiq CMS. Developers can define both the appearance of the interfaces and their interactions. The TUIX files from different Plugins are merged before rendering facilitating easy modification of existing interfaces and addition of new functionality.

XAML

XAML is a markup system that underlies user interface components of Microsoft's .NET Framework 3.0 and above. Its scope is more ambitious than that of most user interface markup languages, since program logic and styles are also embedded in the XAML document. Functionally, it can be seen as a combination of XUL, SVG, CSS, and JavaScript into a single XML schema. Some people are critical of this design, as many standards (such as those already listed) exist for doing these things. However, it is expected to be developed with a visual tool where developers do not even need to understand the underlying markups.

I3ML

I3ML is a proprietary thin client Application Delivery mechanism developed b
CoKinetic Systems Corp
, with client support provided by a browser plugin that will render windows-like applications over an HTTP infrastructure with minimal bandwidth needs.

OpenLaszlo (LZX)

OpenLaszlo is a runtime environment that comprises a runtime environment and an interface definition language (Laszlo XML - LZX). LZX is a declarative user interface language which defines the widgets, application layout and scripting elements (using JavaScript) to create your application. LZX is runtime agnostic with the currently supported runtime being within Macromedia/Adobe Flash. An experimental runtime called Laszlo "Legals" that will allow OpenLaszlo (LZX) applications run in multiple runtime environments, such as DHTML/AJAX.

HMVCUL

Hierarchical Model View Controller User Interface Language (HMVCUL) is an XML markup user interface language which supports the creation and chaining of atomic MVC triad components used in constructing HMVC GUI applications. The associated runtime provides methods which enable configuration of properties, data binding and events of each of the MVC triad elements (widget, controller, model). The runtime accomplishes this by mapping XML elements defined in an HMVCUL file to objects inside the framework, attributes to properties or to events. Chaining is accomplished by following the tree structure described inside the HMVCUL file.

WasabiXML

WasabiXML is an XML markup language that is used to define the graphical interface in

Wasabi Wasabi (Japanese language, Japanese: , , or , ) or Japanese horseradish (''Eutrema japonicum'' syn. ''Wasabia japonica'') is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and Mustard plant, mustard in other genus, genera. ...

powered applications. It is most commonly used with Winamp for making Winamp skins. WasabiXML had been developed by Nullsoft for Winamp, but it is also usable with other applications with the Wasabi SDK. The root element in WasabiXML is (for Winamp skins, it is also ). The element shows the information for a skin. The graphical interface is held by the element and the basic viewable GUI element is . Following is an example for a simple GUI with a button element: 1 mySkin Ooo Lala Some Person [email protected] http://www.example.org