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LON-CAPA uses a syntax similar to XML and HTML. Here are some basic style guides if you do not know the syntax:

XML
http://www.w3schools.com/xml/xml_syntax.asp
HTML
http://www.w3schools.com/html/html5_syntax.asp

Compared to the XML syntax, the LON-CAPA language does not require a prolog at the beginning, and does not require encoding special characters within script elements.

Compared to the HTML syntax, the LON-CAPA language does not require a DOCTYPE, but requires closing all elements. Problem documents do not use the html and body tags. Aside from that, most HTML elements can be used in LON-CAPA documents.

LON-CAPA uses a very simple subset of the XML syntax and there is a lot you do not need to know, including but not limited to: CDATA, DTDs, namespaces, and stylesheets. If you search for XML resources on the Internet yourself, you do not need to read about those things to learn how LON-CAPA uses XML/HTML for problems.