2 cissp ® Official Study Guide Eighth Edition

Hypertext Markup Language
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is commonly used 
to display static web pages. HTML was derived from the Standard Generalized Markup 
Language (SGML) and the Generalized Markup Language (GML). HTML describes how data 
is displayed using tags to manipulate the size and color of the text. For example, the follow-
ing H1 tag displays the text as a level one heading: 

I Passed The CISSP Exam

.
Extensible Markup Language Extensible Markup Language (XML)
goes beyond describ-
ing how to display the data by actually describing the data. XML can include tags to 
describe data as anything desired. For example, the following tag identifies the data as the 
results of taking an exam: 
Passed<
/
ExamResults>
.
Databases from multiple vendors can import and export data to and from an XML for-
mat, making XML a common language used to exchange information. Many specific sche-
mas have been created so that companies know exactly what tags are being used for specific 
purposes. Each of these schemas effectively creates a new XML language. Some common 
languages used for federated identities are listed here.
Security Assertion Markup Language Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML)
is 
an XML-based language that is commonly used to exchange authentication and authori-
zation (AA) information between federated organizations. It is often used to provide SSO 
capabilities for browser access.
Service Provisioning Markup Language Service Provisioning Markup Language (SPML) 
is a newer framework developed by OASIS, a nonprofit consortium that encourages devel-
opment of open standards. It is based on XML and is specifically designed for exchanging 
user information for federated identity SSO purposes. It is based on the Directory Service 
Markup Language (DSML), which can display LDAP-based directory service information 
in an XML format.