SGML

Standard Generalized Markup Language: a set of standards, approved by the ISO, enabling a user to create an appropriate markup scheme for tagging the elements of an electronic document, as to facilitate the production of multiple versions in various print and electronic formats.

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in full Standard Generalized Markup Language

Markup language for organizing and tagging elements of a document, including headings, paragraphs, tables, and graphics.

The elements are marked according to their meaning and relationship to other elements rather than to the format of their presentation. The tagged elements can then be formatted in different ways according to the unique rules for different applications. Readable by both humans and computer programs, SGML is usable in a wide range of applications, including print publishing, CD-ROMs, and database systems. Generic coding of electronic manuscripts was first proposed in the late 1960s; in 1969 an IBM team developed GML, which was adopted by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and Department of Defense. In the late 1970s the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) established a committee to create SGML from GML; it was accepted by the International Organization for Standards in 1986. See also HTML, XML.

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▪ computing

in full  standard generalized markup language 

      an international computer standard for the definition of markup languages; that is, it is a metalanguage. Markup consists of notations called “tags,” which specify the function of a piece of text or how it is to be displayed. SGML emphasizes descriptive markup, in which a tag might be . Such a markup denotes the document function, and it could be interpreted as reverse video on a computer screen, underlining by a typewriter, or italics in typeset text.

      SGML is used to specify DTDs (document type definitions). A DTD defines a kind of document, such as a report, by specifying what elements must appear in the document—e.g.,