Is XML an advanced version of HTML?

As a programmer, processing pure XML is easier that HTML. This is because XML follows a very strict set of standards. HTML (such as HTML 4 or 5) does not. For instance, all XML tags close, either by a closing pair, or a "self-closing" tag. e.g.:

<tag></tag>

Or

<tag />

Whereas HTML tags such as line-break and image don't follow the same pattern.

<img>

<br>

By adhere to stricter rules, XML is easier for me to parse.