What are the special characters in XML

Interview Questions

XML Interview Questions and Answers

50. What are the special characters in XML

For normal text (not markup), there are no special characters: just make sure your document refers to the correct encoding scheme for the language and/or writing system you want to use, and that your computer correctly stores the file using that encoding scheme. See the question on non-Latin characters for a longer explanation.
If your keyboard will not allow you to type the characters you want, or if you want to use characters outside the limits of the encoding scheme you have chosen, you can use a symbolic notation called ‘entity referencing’. Entity references can either be numeric, using the decimal or hexadecimal Unicode code point for the character (eg if your keyboard has no Euro symbol (€) you can type €); or they can be character, using an established name which you declare in your DTD (eg ) and then use as € in your document. If you are using a Schema, you must use the numeric form for all except the five below because Schemas have no way to make character entity declarations.
If you use XML with no DTD, then these five character entities are assumed to be predeclared, and you can use them without declaring them:
<
The less-than character (<) starts element markup (the first character of a start-tag or an end-tag).
&

The ampersand character (>) starts entity markup (the first character of a character entity reference).
>
The greater-than character (>) ends a start-tag or an end-tag.
"
The double-quote character (") can be symbolised with this character entity reference when you need to embed a double-quote inside a string which is already double-quoted.
'
The apostrophe or single-quote character (') can be symbolised with this character entity reference when you need to embed a single-quote or apostrophe inside a string which is already single-quoted.
If you are using a DTD then you must declare all the character entities you need to use (if any), including any of the five above that you plan on using (they cease to be predeclared if you use a DTD). If you are using a Schema, you must use the numeric form for all except the five above because Schemas have no way to make character entity declarations.

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