HTML Info and FAQ

HTML Info & FAQ

Below are various pieces on tags,html and its more advanced forms, as well as an FAQ section to which you can add your own question

Frequently asked questions
Rules for using Tags
Do's and Dont's
HTML: Why was it created?

Frequently asked questions

Read the more frequently asked questions we have come across in designing our own web page using HTML.
If you have a question not stated below, please use the form at the end to submit it and it will be added to this page.

What does HTML stand for?
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language
Why should I learn HTML?
HTML is the source code for all webpages. HTML is like a teabag. The teabag is what gives the flavor to the tea. Without the teabag, the tea is just hot water. Without the html, the website is just a blank page.
Why don't I just use an html editor?
HTML editors such as Hot Metal Pro® and Microsoft Frontpage® may be easier to use than just learning html, but with html you have greater control over your site.
What are tags?
Tags are special items that tells the browser what to do. A tag is enclosed in the left and right brackets <>. Tags should really be in lowercase letters. Example:
Text
Text(under big tag)
Why are some tags called deprecated tags?
Deprecated tags are tags that are marked for destruction when newer versions of HTML are released. Browsers will still read them, but many books and experts don't recomend using them. Some examples of deprecated tags are bold(b), and italic(i).

submit your own question

Rules for using tags

So, what exactly are tags?

Tags are the part of html that is not shared with english (or whatever language you speak). They basically tell the browser what to do. However, tags can be picky.
Here are the basic rules for tags:

Basic Rules

Tags must be written in American English

Tags must be inclosed in brackets(<>)
Tags DO NOT have empty spaces inside them
*
Tags are ALWAYS written in lowercase letters

The difference between Full and Empty Tags

Tag attribute	Full tags	Empty tags
Is a Starting Tag required?	Required	Required
Is an Ending Tag required?	Required	Forbidden
Can the tag contain other tags?	Yes	No

Tag attributes. Why mess with them?

Tag attributes are different descripters which tells the browser just how to display something. For example, the following table has 2 columns, one with an attribute(column 1) and one without an attribute(column 2).

Attribute	No Attribute
This cell is Left Aligned	This cell is Center Aligned (default)

As you can see the first column is aligned to the left, a result of the align attribute, but the second column is aligned to the center, it's default alignment. The border on the table is also the result of an attribute.

What do they mean by deprecated?

Some tags and attributes are deprecated. This means that they may not be supported by the next version of HTML. Browsers tend to support these tags, but many experts and books don't recomend using them. I personally use them only if I have to.

Eg. The align attribute is deprecated in most cases. The width attribute, which I used in the table above is also deprecated. The bold tag is just one of the deprecated tags.

*There are 2 instances in which this rule does not apply:

When putting attributes in tags, always leave a space between the tag name and attribute, and between 2 attributes.

In XHTML, when closing an empty tag's starting tag always leave a space before adding the /.

Since HTML is discussed on virtually every other page on this site, I'll discuss XHTML and DHTML. XHTML has a few different rules. Here are some of XHTML's special rules:

Rules of XHTML
I found this list (In a slightly different format) in the HTML 4 for Dummies© book third edition by Ed Tittel, Natanya Pitts, and Chelsea Valentine

When putting tags within tags, the tag you open first gets closed last.

When using tags that have optional end tags, always include the end tag.

When using attributes, the attribute values must always be put into quotes("value").

Element and attribute names are always LOWERCASE.

When using stand alone attribute name and value pairs, always end them with either checked="checked" or compact="compact".

You must end the starting tag of elements with ( /).

You must use a DOCTYPE declaration in your document. Use this code: remember to substitute ( ) for (<>)
(!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC"-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN""DTD/xhtml-strict.dtd")

You must include an XHTML namespace. Use this code:
(html xmlns="http://www.W3C.org/1999/xhtml")space(/html). Fill in your info in the "space".

DHTML, what is this?
DHTML means Dynamic HTML, which is a combination of HTML, Cascading Style Sheets, and Scripting.

Here are some basic things about DHTML:

DHTML is responsible for really jazzing up Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

DHTML allows greater control over how the website is displayed

DHTML can make much better graphics and produce great animations

DHTML makes web pages much nicer looking

Do's and Dont's when building your page
So you know HTML and wanna build a website. But did you know that there are somethings you really should not do? It is vital to your site that you follow these rules:

Graphics rules:
Graphics can be used to liven up a web page. However. you have to be careful about the size of your graphics. Graphics that are very big tend to take a long time to load, therefore scaring off visitors to your site. Here are the basic rules of using graphics:

All graphics should be small

All graphics should have their pixel count reduced

There should be only 2 or 3 pictures per page

You can find out more on resizing graphics from the HTML 4 for Dummies© book by Ed Tittel, Natanya Pitts, and Chelsea Valentine.

Content rules:
Content is the most vital part of any website. Graphics and style are nice touches, but even the most beautiful website is bogus without content. However, even content has some basic rules:

Your content should be easy to read (use a basic font like Arial or Times New Roman)

Your content should be straight foward and uncluttered

Content should be placed in easy to read blocks

Style and Orginazation rules:
Even though content is the most important part of a website, a pageful of content looks bland and boring. An unorganized page can be confusing. Some basic rules can turn your boring chaotic page into a masterpiece of style.

Bulleted lists (unordered, ul or ordered, ol) can really help a page's content look better

Using headers (h1 to h3) can separate some text from other text

Line breaks (br) can also split info

Horizontal lines (hr) are a good way to divide a page.(For some 3d lines CLICK HERE)

These basic rules can make even the most boring page more beautiful.
Why was HTML created in the first place?

HTML: Who and Why?

HTML was created by Tim Berners-Lee created a simple text language that allowed people to browse and make their own sites. This language was so simple that it could be learned in a matter of hours. This language was a part of SGML that had a handful of tags. However, the language became too simple. Other developers than added to the language. Their was only one rule with new additions: If people liked it; it stayed, If people didn't like it; it was removed.

Then, in 1993, a big debate over the basic HTML code started. Some people wanted to add the (include) or (embed) tag. However, Mark Andreesen wanted to just add the (img) tag. Others were concerned with ease. However, Mark wanted to ship ASAP.

HTML got it's big break when Microsoft® came into the picture. Later, HTML 3 was proposed. In the middle of work on it, the goals for it were too big, so it was abondoned. A new, lowertech HTML 3.2 was started and finished. Then, HTML 4 (also known as cougar) emerged, allowing a lot more freedom to do what you wanted to do. However, the big browsers, Microsoft Internet Explorer® and Netscape Navigator® started to compete over each other.

Things got even more confusing when DHTML hit the net. This new language stood for Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language. DHTML allowed for much greater control over the look and feel of a page.

Also around this time, XML, Extensible Markup Language and Hypertext Markup Language combined to form XHTML, aka Extensible Hypertext Markup Language. XHTML allowed for much more tag control and allowed the user to create their own tags.

Different animation languages allowed for special things like submitable forms and pictures moving around. A variety of these languages have emerged, including Java, Javascript, Cgi, and Flash. A person can also add video clips and music and sound to a page.