Extensible Application Markup Language

Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML)
Filename extension
.xaml
Internet media type
application/xaml+xml
Developed byMicrosoft
Initial releaseNovember 2006; 17 years ago (2006-11)[1]
Latest release
v2019
12 March 2019; 5 years ago (2019-03-12)[2]
Type of formatUser interface markup language
Extended fromXML

Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML /ˈzæməl/ ⓘ) is a declarative XML-based language developed by Microsoft for initializing structured values and objects. It is available under Microsoft's Open Specification Promise.[3]

XAML is used extensively in Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Silverlight, Workflow Foundation (WF), Windows UI Library (WinUI), Universal Windows Platform (UWP), and .NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI). In WPF and UWP, XAML is a user interface markup language to define UI elements, data binding, and events. In WF, however, XAML defines workflows.

XAML elements map directly to Common Language Runtime (CLR) object instances, while XAML attributes map to CLR properties and events on those objects.

Anything that is created or implemented in XAML can be expressed using a more traditional .NET language, such as C# or Visual Basic .NET. However, a key aspect of the technology is the reduced complexity needed for tools to process XAML, because it is based on XML.[4]

  1. ^ "[MS-XAML] Xaml Object Mapping Specification 2006" (PDF). Microsoft. June 2008.
  2. ^ "Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML)". Microsoft. 12 March 2019.
  3. ^ Worthington, David. "Microsoft adds XAML to 'Open Specification' list – Software Development Times On The Web". Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  4. ^ "XAML Syntax In Detail". Windows Presentation Foundation library. Microsoft. 12 August 2021 – via Microsoft Docs.