HTML Documents
What an HTML Document Is
HTML documents are plain-text (also known as ASCII) files that can be created using any
text editor (e.g., Emacs or vi on UNIX machines; SimpleText on a Macintosh; Notepad on a
Windows machine). You can also use word-processing software if you remember to save
your document as "text only with line breaks".
HTML Editors
Some WYSIWYG editors are also available (e.g., Claris Home Page or Adobe PageMill,
both for Windows and Macintosh). You may wish to try one of them after you learn some of
the basics of HTML tagging. WYSIWYG is an acronym for "what you see is what you get";
it means that you design your HTML document visually, as if you were using a word
processor, instead of writing the markup tags in a plain-text file and imagining what the
resulting page will look like. It is useful to know enough HTML to code a document before
you determine the usefulness of a WYSIWYG editor, in case you want to add HTML features
that your editor doesn't support.
Getting Your Files on a Server
If you have access to a Web server at school or work, contact your webmaster (the individual
who maintains the server) to see how you can get your files on the Web. If you do not have
access to a server at work or school, check to see if your community operates a FreeNet, a
community-based network that provides free access to the Internet. Lacking a FreeNet, you
may need to contact a local Internet provider that will post your files on a server for a fee.
(Check your local newspaper for advertisements or with your Chamber of Commerce for the
names of companies.)
Tags Explained
An element is a fundamental component of the structure of a text document. Some examples
of elements are heads, tables, paragraphs, and lists. Think of it this way: you use HTML tags
to mark the elements of a file for your browser. Elements can contain plain text, other
elements, or both.
To denote the various elements in an HTML document, you use tags. HTML tags consist of a
left angle bracket (<), a tag name, and a right angle bracket (>). Tags are usually paired (e.g.,
<H1> and </H1>) to start and end the tag instruction. The end tag looks just like the start tag
except a slash (/) precedes the text within the brackets. HTML tags are listed below.
Some elements may include an attribute, which is additional information that is included
inside the start tag. For example, you can specify the alignment of images (top, middle, or
bottom) by including the appropriate attribute with the image source HTML code. Tags that
have optional attributes are noted below.
NOTE: HTML is not case sensitive. <title> is equivalent to <TITLE> or <TiTlE>. There are
a few exceptions noted in Escape Sequences below.
Not all tags are supported by all World Wide Web browsers. If a browser does not support a
tag, it will simply ignore it. Any text placed between a pair of unknown tags will still be
displayed, however.
The Minimal HTML Document
Every HTML document should contain certain standard HTML tags. Each document consists
of head and body text. The head contains the title, and the body contains the actual text that is
made up of paragraphs, lists, and other elements. Browsers expect specific information
because they are programmed according to HTML and SGML specifications.
Required elements are shown in this sample bare-bones document:
<html>
<head>
<TITLE>A Simple HTML Example</TITLE>
</head>
<body>
<H1>HTML is Easy To Learn</H1>
<P>Welcome to the world of HTML.
This is the first paragraph. While short it is
still a paragraph!</P>
<P>And this is the second paragraph.</P>
</body>
</html>
The required elements are the <html>, <head>, <title>, and <body> tags (and their
corresponding end tags). Because you should include these tags in each file, you might want
to create a template file with them. (Some browsers will format your HTML file correctly
even if these tags are not included. But some browsers won't! So make sure to include them.)
Click to see the formatted version of the example. A longer example is also available but you
should read through the rest of the guide before you take a look. This longer-example file
contains tags explained in the next section.
A Teaching Tool
To see a copy of the file that your browser reads to generate the information in your current
window, select View Source (or the equivalent) from the browser menu. (Most browsers have
a "View" menu under which this command is listed.) The file contents, with all the HTML
tags, are displayed in a new window.
This is an excellent way to see how HTML is used and to learn tips and constructs. Of course,
the HTML might not be technically correct. Once you become familiar with HTML and
check the many online and hard-copy references on the subject, you will learn to distinguish
between "good" and "bad" HTML.
Remember that you can save a source file with the HTML codes and use it as a template for
one of your Web pages or modify the format to suit your purposes
