What Is HyperText Markup Language (HTML)?
Let me explain HTML to you directly: it's HyperText Markup Language, a straightforward yet powerful tool used worldwide for building websites. It involves markup symbols or codes inserted into files that tell web browsers how to display text and images on the internet. As the web evolves, so does HTML, supporting features like hyperlinks that let you navigate seamlessly from one page to another.
Key Takeaways
You should know that HTML is the essential scripting language web browsers use to show content on the World Wide Web. The 'HyperText' part means you can click links to move to new pages, enabling flexible navigation. 'Markup' refers to tags that define how text and images appear on a page. HTML keeps advancing, with the HTML5 Living Standard adding capabilities for multimedia and better user interaction. Remember, while HTML sticks to predefined tags, XML lets you create your own for more flexibility.
In-Depth Look at HTML Functionality
Diving deeper, HTML is the computer language that makes website creation possible. Like any language, it has its own code words and syntax, and it's fairly easy for you to learn and use. Over time, it's grown more powerful to handle what the internet demands, guided by the World Wide Web Consortium—the group that designs and maintains it, especially as we've moved into Web 2.0.
HyperText is how you navigate the web: click a hyperlink, and you're taken to a new page. The 'hyper' aspect means navigation isn't linear; you can jump around as needed. Markup is what HTML tags do—they tag text to make it a certain type, like bold or italic, to highlight specific words or phrases.
Fundamentals of HTML Coding
At its heart, HTML consists of short codes you type into a text file—these are the tags that give it power. Save the text as an HTML file, and a web browser reads it, turning the codes into the visible page you see, based on what you've written. To get it right, you need to use tags properly to match your vision.
Tags set HTML code apart from regular text, enclosed in angle brackets, and they make graphics, images, and tables appear on pages. Each tag has its function; basic ones just format text. For more dynamic sites, you can add Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for better accessibility and JavaScript to boost HTML's capabilities.
Comparing HTML and XML: Key Differences
Unlike HTML, Extensible Markup Language (XML) lets you define your own markup tags—for instance, one person might tag a footnote one way, another differently. In HTML, you're limited to predefined tags for specific information types. XML documents are straightforward to read because they use custom tags and focus solely on markup and content.
What Does HTML Stand for?
HTML stands for 'HyperText Markup Language'—that's the full name you should remember.
Who Invented HTML?
Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist, proposed and prototyped a system in 1980 at CERN for sharing documents among researchers. By 1989, he wrote a memo suggesting an internet-based hypertext system, and in late 1990, he specified HTML and created the browser and server software.
How Can HTML Be Used?
- Webpage development
- Internet navigation
- Browser storage function
- Web document creation
- Game development
- Website enrichment
What Does the Future Hold for HTML?
HTML5 is the fifth and final major version, released in 2008, with the current spec called the HTML Living Standard. Looking ahead, expect developments like adjusting image pixel sizes, better video control across pages, support for pluggable languages and processors, and integrating cellphone cameras for enhanced photos and videos.
The Bottom Line
In summary, HTML is the core scripting language for web content display, using markup in angle brackets to guide browsers on text, images, and links. It has adapted to modern web needs, pairing with CSS and JavaScript for interactive, accessible experiences. If you're into developing or improving websites, understanding HTML is crucial—it's the foundation of internet navigation and presentation.
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