Glossary


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A

A
Stands for "Anchor" and is used for links. Can either be the link itself, or the destination of an internal link
Absolute Pathnames
A pathname which specifies its location through an exact and absolute URL
ALIGN
Attribute used in various tags that causes the text, image, or horizontal rule to shift to one side or another, or from the top to the bottom.
ALINK
Attribute of the body tag which is used the change the color of the "active link," that is, when the link is being clicked on.
ALT
Means "alternate. It's the attribute used in the "IMG" tag that provides viewers who cannot see the images an alternate text to read in place of the image.
Ampersand (&)
Symbol which means "and" but in HTML, it's the character used to start every escape sequence.
Animations
Moving images that have the same extension as a normal image (usually ".gif") and therefore are treated as a normal image when being inserted in a page
Attribute
A part of an HTML tag that describes a characteristic of that tag (included inside its brackets). It may be assigned a value, although not always.

B

Blockquote
Tag that offsets long quotations by indenting both sides of the text. Tags:<BLOCKQUOTE> and </BLOCKQUOTE>
Body
One of the two main sections of most HTML documents (see Head). Contains all the text, images, links, and backgrounds of a webpage.
BORDER
Attribute that controls the thickness of the border of an image or table.
Break
Tag that acts as the "return" key on a keyboard. Tag: <BR>

C

CAPTION
Tag used in tables that gives it a title. Optional. Tag: <CAPTION>
Case Sensitive
When the text requires the proper case, that is, whether or not the letters are in upper or lower case.
Closing Tag
The second tag in a two tag pair. Example: </CENTER> (See Opening Tag)
COLSPAN
Attribute used in table cells that specifies how many columns the cell will span
COMPACT
Attribute associated with definition lists. Used when short terms are being defined.

D

Default
The choice that the computer automatically picks for you when you don't specify a choice. Most notably used with attributes.
Definition list
A list used to define terms (like in a dictionary). Tags associated with it: <DL>,<DT>, and <DD>. (See Definition Term and Definition Definition)
Definition Term
In a definition list, the term that you are defining. Tag: <DT>
Definition Definition
In a definition list, the definition of the definition term. Tag: <DD>
Document Info
Part of a browser where you can find all images, backgrounds, sounds, and movies on a webpage. This is where you go to find the background image.

E

Editor
Software use to write code in HTML. Examples: SimpleText, Notepad. There also editors that write the HTML code for you. Examples: Frontpage, Pagemill
E-mail
Electronic mail- method of exchanging "letters" (written text or information) on the Internet
Escape Sequences
A segment of code that produces a special character. All escape sequences begin with an ampersand (&). Common ones are the right and left brackets (< and >).
Extension
The last part of a filename, begins with a period. It identifies the type of file. Examples: ".gif" , ".jpg"

F

FTP
File Transfer Protocol- An Internet file transfer service which provides a way to copy files to and from FTP servers.
FONT
Tag used to edit certain aspects of the font. With attributes, one can edit size, color, and face (font style).

H

Hash marks (#)
Symbol used in internal links to indicate that a link is to a specific section of the current page
Head
One of the two main sections of most HTML documents (see Body). The Head contains the Title.
Header
Also called a Heading. A way to create text that can vary in size (1-6) for emphasis. Used to start new ideas within an HTML document. Example Tag:<H1>
Horizontal Rule
Tag that produces a line across the webpage that can have varying widths, lengths, and alignments. Tag:<HR> Attributes: SIZE, WIDTH, ALIGN, NOSHADE
HTML
Hypertext Markup Language- the code used to create Web pages

I

Internal Link
Link that jumps to a location within the current document
Internet Explorer
Commonly used browser that comes with Windows 95 and Windows 98.
ISP
Internet Service Provider- The company that provides Internet access to a consumer. Examples: America Online, Compuserve, Prodigy

L

Link
A pointer which can transport a user to another section of the current page, or to an entirely different page
List Item
The bulletted or numbered entries in a list.
Logical Style
Style of coding text that relies on the tags referring to the meaning, or function, of a desired effect. Examples: <EM> and <CODE>

N

Nested Lists
The result of having more than one list "inside" another one. Basically, a list within a list. Different list types may be used in nested lists.
Nestcape
Commonly used browser
Numbered list
See Ordered List.

O

Ordered list
A numbered list. Tag used associated with it:<OL>
Opening Tag
The first tag in a two tag pair. Example: <CENTER> (see Closing Tag)

P

Paragraphs
The simplest way to add text to a page. Tag associated with it: <P>. May have attributes too: <P ALIGN="center">
Physical Style
Style of coding text that relies on the tags referring to physical appearance of the desired effect. Examples: <B> and <I>
Preformatted Text
Feature of HTML that allows you to write the text exactly as you would like it too appear on the browser. Does not use "whitespace reduction" or "wraparound." Tags: <PRE> and </PRE>

R

Relative Pathnames
A pathname that specifies its location relative to the directory that its already in.
ROWSPAN
Attribute used in table cells that specifies how many rows the cell will span

S

Search Engine
A device on the Internet that allows a user to search for certain topics. The search engine will return a list of sites that contain information about the topic searched. Examples: Infoseek, Altavista, Yahoo
Server
A system that can host webpages, among other things.

T

Tables
A feature in HTML which allows one to organize their pages much better.
Tag
The integral element of HTML coding. Are enclosed on brackets (< and >) Many times they work in pairs. May or may not have attributes.
Title
The part of the HTML document that is displayed at the top of the browser (not in the window). In the code, it is contained in the Head.
Troubleshooting
The process of reviewing a piece of faulty code to find the error. Essential for successful HTML coding.

U

Unnumbered list
A list that is not numbered. Bullet symbols are used instead of numbers. Tag associated with it: <UL>
URL
Uniform Resource Locator- the web address of a webpage

V

VALIGN
Attribute used in a table cell to vertically align the contents of that cell.
VLINK
Attribute of the body tag which is used the change the color of the "visited link," that is, when the link has been already visited.

W

Whitespace Reduction
Feature of HTML that reduces all "whitespace" (which includes all returns and anything at least two spaces in a row) to one single space. Preformatted Text does not allow "Whitespace Reduction."
Wraparound
Feature of HTML that automatically returns a sentence at the end of the line. Preformatted Text does not allow "Wraparound."
World Wide Web (WWW or W3)
Collection of all Web servers available on the Internet
WYSIWYG
"What You See Is What You Get" A term used to describe some HTML editors (like the Online Webpage Generator on this site) that shows the user what the finished HTML document will look like on the web.


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