This topic describes the tag syntax conventions and mark-up declarations of the Dialog Tag Language (DTL). It also explains how to use the DTL to create dialog element source files for your ISPF applications.

The markup style of DTL is based on the International Standards Organization (ISO) Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). Markup languages allow you to specify, through the use of tags, how the text of a file is to be formatted for use by an application. Because DTL is a markup language, you must follow special rules and conventions when using it to define dialog elements.