What is html?
HTML is a language for describing web pages.- HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language
- HTML is not a programming language, it is a markup language
- A markup language is a set of markup tags
- HTML uses markup tags to describe web pages
HTML Tags
HTML markup tags are usually called HTML tags- HTML tags are keywords surrounded by angle brackets like <html>
- HTML tags normally come in pairs like <b> and </b>
- The first tag in a pair is the start tag, the second tag is the end tag
- Start and end tags are also called opening tags and closing tags
HTML Documents = Web Pages
- HTML documents describe web pages
- HTML documents contain HTML tags and plain text
- HTML documents are also called web pages
The purpose of a web browser (like Internet Explorer or Firefox) is to read HTML documents and display them as web pages. The browser does not display the HTML tags, but uses the tags to interpret the content of the page:
<html>
<body>
<h1>My First Heading</h1>
<p>My first paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
Example Explained
- The text between <html> and </html> describes the web page
- The text between <body> and </body> is the visible page content
- The text between <h1> and </h1> is displayed as a heading
- The text between <p> and </p> is displayed as a paragraph
Editing HTML
We will use a plain text editor (like Notepad) to edit HTML. It is the best way to learn HTML. However, professional web developers often prefer HTML editors like FrontPage or Dreamweaver, instead of writing plain text..HTM or .HTML File Extension?
When you save an HTML file, you can use either the .htm or the .html file extension.HTML Headings
HTML headings are defined with the <h1> to <h6> tags.<h1>This is a heading</h1>
<h2>This is a heading</h2>
<h3>This is a heading</h3>
HTML Paragraphs
HTML paragraphs are defined with the <p> tag.<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<p>This is another paragraph.</p>
HTML Links
HTML links are defined with the <a> tag.<a href="http://www.johnsagnet.com">This is a link</a>
Note: The link address is specified in the href attribute.
HTML Images
HTML images are defined with the <img> tag.<img src="johnsagnet.jpg" width="104" height="142" />
Note: The name and the size of the image are provided as attributes.
HTML Element Syntax
- An HTML element starts with a start tag / opening tag
- An HTML element ends with an end tag / closing tag
- The element content is everything between the start and the end tag
- Some HTML elements have empty content
- Empty elements are closed in the start tag
- Most HTML elements can have attributes
HTML Example Explained
The <p> element:<p>This is my first paragraph.</p>
The <p> element defines a paragraph in the HTML document. The element has a start tag <p> and an end tag </p>.
The element content is: This is my first paragraph.
The <body> element:
<body> <p>This is my first paragraph.</p> </body>The <body> element defines the body of the HTML document.
The element has a start tag <body> and an end tag </body>.
The element content is another HTML element (a p element).
The <html> element:
<html><body>
<p>This is my first paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>
The <html> element defines the whole HTML document.
The element has a start tag <html> and an end tag </html>.
The element content is another HTML element (the body element).
Empty HTML Elements
HTML elements with no content are called empty elements. Empty elements can be closed in the start tag. <br> is an empty element without a closing tag (the <br> tag defines a line break).In XHTML, XML, and future versions of HTML, all elements must be closed.
Adding a slash to the start tag, like <br />, is the proper way of closing empty elements, accepted by HTML, XHTML and XML.
Even if <br> works in all browsers, writing <br /> instead is more future proof.
HTML Tip: Use Lowercase Tags
HTML tags are not case sensitive: <P> means the same as <p>. Many web sites use uppercase HTML tags. This class recommends lowercase.HTML Attributes
- Attributes provide additional information about HTML elements.
- HTML elements can have attributes
- Attributes provide additional information about an element
- Attributes are always specified in the start tag
- Attributes come in name/value pairs like: name="value"
HTML Lines
The <hr /> tag creates a horizontal line in an HTML page.The hr element can be used to separate content:
<p>This is a paragraph</p>
<hr />
<p>This is a paragraph</p>
<hr />
<p>This is a paragraph</p>
HTML Comments
Comments can be inserted into the HTML code to make it more readable and understandable. Comments are ignored by the browser and are not displayed. Comments are written like this:<!-- This is a comment -->