Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

server-parsed HTML
     
         (SPML, SHTML) A kind of {HTML}
        file containing server-specific, non-standard commands which
        are interpreted by the {HTTP server} and replaced by standard
        HTML or text before the data is returned to the client.
     
        Different servers use different command syntax and support
        different sets of commands.  The most common example is a
        {server-side include} command which simply expands to the
        contents of some given file and allows bits of HTML or text to
        be shared between pages for ease of updating.  Other commands
        insert the value of an {environment variable} or the output of
        a {shell command}.  These allow pages to be different each
        time they are served without requiring a {CGI} script.
     
        Some servers distinguish SPML from HTML with a different
        {filename extension}, others use the execute bit of the file's
        {permissions}.
     
        (1996-09-29)