What Is HTML?


In the Introduction, you learned that HTML is a markup language, not a programming language. In fact, the term HTML is an acronym that stands for Hypertext Markup Language. You can apply this markup language to your pages to display text, images, sound and movie files, and almost any other type of electronic information. You use the language to format documents and link them together, regardless of the type of computer with which the file was originally created.

Why is that important? You know that if you write a document in your favorite word processor and send it to a friend who doesn't have that same word processor, your friend can't read the document, right? The same is true for almost any type of file (including spreadsheets, databases, and bookkeeping software). Rather than using some proprietary programming code that can be interpreted by only a specific software program, HTML is written as plain text that any Web browser or word processing software can read. The software does this by identifying specific elements of a document (such as heading, body, and footer), and then defining the way those elements should behave. These elements, called tags, are created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). You'll learn more about tags in upcoming lessons.

Tags

These are elements of a Web page that are used to define how those pages should behave. They are most often used in pairs, which surround the element they are defining.


World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

Members of this group develop the protocols that make up the World Wide Web. Currently, the W3C has 180 members from commercial, academic, and governmental organizations worldwide.




Sams Teach Yourself HTML in 10 Minutes
Sams Teach Yourself HTML in 10 Minutes (4th Edition)
ISBN: 067232878X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 151
Authors: Deidre Hayes

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