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Chapter Seventeen: How HTML Works

Table
of
Contents:

Getting Started - Tips and Tricks

Interlit Web Site Links to Textbook Chapter Resources

Required Equipment, Software and Services

Course Syllabus

Course Assignments and Due Dates

Part One: Understanding The Internet

Part Two: Getting On The Internet

Part Three: Communicating Over The Internet

Part Four: Finding Things On The Internet

Part Five: Creating Web Pages

Part Six: Using Multimedia On The Internet

Part Seven: Planning For The Future Of The Internet

Send E-Mail:

Internet Literacy Home Page

 After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

  • Explain the concept of a markup language.

  • Realize that different Web browsers may display the same HTML somewhat differently.

  • Understand the two HTML tag formats.

  • Define the families of HTML tags.

  • Understand the HTML tags used in creating a resume.

  • Describe how HTML evolved and still is emerging.

  • Understand the elements of a URL.

HTML and the Web

HTML allows you to format text, add rules, graphics, sound and video, then save it all in a text-only ASCII file that any computer can read. Remember, to project video or play sounds, you will also need to have a computer configured with the necessary hardware, browser plugins and software applications.

The key to HTML is in the tags, keywords enclosed in less than (<) and greater than (>) signs that indicate to the web browser software (Netscape or Internet Explorer) what kind of content is coming up. A browser can interpret HTML tas and then show the formatted document on screen. There are opening and closing versions for many (but not all) tags, and the affected text is contained within the two tags. Both the opening and closing taggs use the same command word but the closing tag uses an initial forward slash symbol. EXAMPLE: <HTML></HTML>

In some cases, you may want to nest tags on a page. Remember, not all tags can contain all other kinds of tags. As a general rule, tags that affect entire paragraphs can contain tags that affect individual words or letters, but not vice versa. Also, whenever you use a closing tag, it should correspond to the last unclosed opening tag.

HTML browsers will ignore any extra spaces that exist between the tags in your HTML document. You can control spacing by using HTML tags to define paragraphs, carriage returns and line breaks.

HTML documents can contain hypertext links to other HTML documents or to other sites on the Internet. This means you can create several Web pages and have your visitors jump from one to the other as needed. You can also create links to other organizations' Web pages, giving your visitors access to information created and maintained at other Web sites.

You can create an HTML document with any word processor or text editor. You can also use HTML editors, a WYSIWIG tool or an HTML translator to create web pages.

Online Resources:

htmlcompendium.org -- The Compendium of HTML Elements
The Willcam Group - Compact Index of HTML Tags
W3C - The World Wide Web Consortium


Go to:
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Eighteen

Copyright 1999 by California State University, Monterey Bay, and Hartnell College
Please report any missing or broken links to Jennifer Lagier