The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of document markup languages. Please see the individual markup languages' articles for further information.

General information

Basic general information about the markup languages: creator, version, etc.

LanguageFirst public release dateCreatorEditorViewer
AsciiDoc2002Stuart RackhamText editorOutput to XHTML, HTML, DocBook (which can convert to PDF, EPUB, DVI, LaTeX, roff, and PostScript)
Computable Document Format2010Wolfram ResearchWolfram Language & MathematicaCDF Player; CDF format can also be embedded in web pages viewable with conventional browsers.
Creole2007Text editorOutput to HTML, RTF, LaTeX, others; renderers for MFC, others.
Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA)2005IBM, OASISText/XML editorOutput to HTML, PDF, CHM, javadoc, others.
DocBook1992The Davenport Group, OASISXML editorOutput to HTML, PDF, CHM, javadoc, others.
Encoded Archival Description (EAD)1998Berkeley ProjectText editorWeb browser
Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML)2000 (January 26)W3CText/XML editor, HTML editorWeb browser
1999Simon TathamText editorOutput to ASCII text, HTML, PDF, PostScript, Unix man pages, GNU Info, Windows Help (.CHM files), Windows WinHelp (old .HLP files)
HyperText Markup Language (HTML)1993Tim Berners-LeeText editor, HTML editorWeb browser
LilyPond1996Han-Wen Nienhuys, Jan NieuwenhuizenText editor, ScorewriterOutput to DVI, PDF, PostScript, PNG, others.
Maker Interchange Format (MIF)1986Frame Technology acquired by Adobe Systems in 1995Text editor, FrameMakerFrameMaker
MakeDoc2000Carl SassenrathText editorWeb browser (XHTML or HTML output)
Markdown2004John GruberText editor, E-mail clientWeb browser (XHTML or HTML output), preview in gedit-markdown-plugin
Math Markup Language (MathML)1999 (July)W3CText/XML editor, TeX converterWeb browser, Word processor
The Music Encoding Initiative (MEI)1999The MEI CommunityXML editorVerovio
Music Extensible Markup Language (MusicXML)2002RecordareScorewriterScorewriter
2019ExecutableBooks teamText editorOutput to Word processor, LaTeX, PDF, Markdown.
Office Open XML (OOXML)2006Ecma International, ISO/IECOffice suiteOffice suite
OpenDocument Format (ODF)2005OASIS, ISO/IECOffice suiteOffice suite
Open Mathematical Documents (OMDoc)2000Michael KohlhaseText/XML editorOutput to XHTML+MathML, TeX, others.
Org-mode2003Org-mode projectEmacs, text editorEmacs. Output to HTML, PDF, DocBook, FreeMind, OpenDocument Format (ODF), others.
reStructuredText2001David GoodgerText editorOutput to HTML, LaTeX, PDF, Unix man pages, ODT, S5 (HTML Slide Shows), XML, others.
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)2004W3CVector graphics editorWeb browser, etc.
Script GML1968 1971IBMText editorGDDM, AFP viewer
TeX LaTeX1978 1984Donald Knuth Leslie LamportText editorDVI or Portable Document Format (PDF) converter
Texinfo1986Richard StallmanText editoroutput to DVI, Portable Document Format (PDF), HTML, DocBook, others.
TeXmacs format1998Joris van der HoevenText editor/TeXmacs editorPDF or PostScript files. Converters exist for TeX/LaTeX and XHTML+Mathml
Textile2002Dean AllenText editorWeb browser (XHTML or HTML output), reference and tester (uses latest PHP-Textile version 3.5.5)
Text Encoding Initiative (TEI)1990Text Encoding Initiative ConsortiumText/XML editorWeb Browser (using XHTML), PDF, Word Processor (using ODF) or EPUB
troff (typesetter runoff) groff (GNU runoff)1973 1990Joe OssannaText editorgroffer, or output to PostScript
Wireless Markup Language (WML)1999WAP ForumText/XML editorMobile browser
LanguageFirst public release dateCreatorEditorViewer

Note: While Rich Text Format (RTF) is human readable, it is not considered to be a markup language and is thus excluded from the table.

Characteristics

Some characteristics of the markup languages.[definition needed]

LanguageMajor purposeBased onMarkup typeStructural markupPresentational markupOpen format
AsciiDocMulti-purposeTagYesYesYes
Computable Document FormatInteractive technical documents, infographics, blogsWolfram LanguageTagYesYesNo
Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA)Technical documentsXMLTagYesYesYes
DocBookTechnical documentsSGML / XMLTagYesYesYes
Encoded Archival Description (EAD)Finding aidsXMLTagYesNo
Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML)Hypertext documentsXMLTagYesYesYes
FictionBookMulti-purposeXMLTagYesYesYes
Technical documentsControl codeYesYesYes
HyperText Markup Language (HTML)Hypertext documentsSGMLTagYesYesYes
LilypondMusic notationControl codeYesYes
Maker Interchange Format (MIF)Technical documentsTagYesYes
MarkdownFormatted technical documents, hypertext documents, e-mailText e-mail conventionsTagYesYesYes
Math Markup Language (MathML)Mathematical documentsXMLTagYesYes
The Music Encoding Initiative (MEI)Music notationXMLTagYesYes
Music Extensible Markup Language (MusicXML)Music notationXMLTagYesYesYes
Office Open XML (OOXML)Multi-purposeXML / ZIPTagYesYesYes
OpenDocument Format (ODF)Multi-purposeXML / ZIPTagYesYesYes
Open Mathematical Document (OMDoc)Mathematical documentsXMLTagYesYes
Org-modeMulti-purpose (notes, project management, publishing, literate programming)Text outlinerTagYesYes
reStructuredTextTechnical and multi-purpose documentsStructured text and SetextTagYesYesYes
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)2D vector graphicsXMLTagYesYesYes
Script GMLMulti-purposeRUNOFFControl codeYesYes
TeX LaTeXAcademic documents, multi-purposeControl codeYesYes
TexinfoTechnical documentsTeX, ScribeControl codeYesYes
TeXmacs formatAcademic documentstreeTagYesYes
TextileHypertext documentsAsciiDoc (based on some similarities and dates of release)TagYesYesYes
Text Encoding Initiative (TEI)Academic, linguistic, literary and technical documentsSGML / XMLTagYesNo
troff (typesetter runoff), groff (GNU runoff)Technical documentsRUNOFFControl codeYesYes
Wireless Markup Language (WML)Hypertext documentsXMLTagYesYes
LanguageMajor purposeBased onMarkup typeStructural markupPresentational markupOpen format

Notes

See also