Text Handling | Real World XML (2nd Edition)

Displaying simple text works the same way in XHTML as it does in HTML: You just place the text directly in a document. XHTML elements that display text have mixed-content models, so they can contain both text and other elements, as in this example we saw earlier:

 <?xml version="1.0"?>  <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">     <head>         <title>             Welcome to my page         </title>     </head>     <body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="red" alink="blue"         vlink="green">  Welcome to my XHTML document.   Want to check out more about XHTML?   Go to   <a href="http://www.w3c.org">W3C</a>.  </body> </html>

The text in this document is displayed directly in the browser, as you see in Figure 16-3. It's up to you to format the text the way you want it. In early versions of HTML, you used elements such as  (bold),  (italics), and  (underline) to format text; as formatting has become more sophisticated, though, the emphasis has switched to using stylesheets.

As you know, XML has five predefined entity references, and they stand for characters that can be interpreted as markup or other control characters :

& becomes the & character.
' becomes the ' character.
> becomes the > character.
< becomes the < character.
" becomes the " character.

A great many more character entities exist in HTML 4.0, and they're supported in XHTML as well. You can find them in Table 16-1.

Table 16-1. Character Entities in XHTML (Support Varies by Browser)

Entity	Numerical Does This
`Aacute`	`Á`	Latin capital letter A with acute accent
`aacute`	`á`	Latin small letter a with acute accent
`Acirc`	`Â`	Latin capital letter A with circumflex
`acirc`	`â`	Latin small letter a with circumflex
`acute`	`´`	Acute accent
`AElig`	`Æ`	Latin capital letter AE
`aelig`	`æ`	Latin small letter ae
`Agrave`	`À`	Latin capital letter A with grave accent
`agrave`	`à`	Latin small letter a with grave accent
`alefsym`	`ℵ`	Alef symbol; first transfinite cardinal
`Alpha`	`Α`	Greek capital letter alpha
`alpha`	`α`	Greek small letter alpha
`amp`	`&`	Ampersand
`and`	`∧`	Logical and
`ang`	`∠`	Angle
`Aring`	`Å`	Latin capital letter A with ring above
`aring`	`å`	Latin small letter a with ring above
`asymp`	`≈`	Almost equal to; asymptotic to
`Atilde`	`Ã`	Latin capital letter A with tilde
`atilde`	`ã`	Latin small letter a with tilde
`Auml`	`Ä`	Latin capital letter A with dieresis (umlaut)
`auml`	`ä`	Latin small letter a with dieresis (umlaut)
`bdquo`	`„`	Double low-9 quotation mark
`Beta`	`Β`	Greek capital letter beta
`beta`	`β`	Greek small letter beta
`brvbar`	`¦`	Broken bar; broken vertical bar
`bull`	`•`	Bullet; black small circle
`cap`	`∩`	Intersection; cap
`Ccedil`	`Ç`	Latin capital letter C with cedilla
`ccedil`	`ç`	Latin small letter c with cedilla
`cedil`	`¸`	Cedilla
`cent`	`¢`	Cent sign
`Chi`	`Χ`	Greek capital letter chi
`chi`	`χ`	Greek small letter chi
`circ`	`ˆ`	Modifier letter circumflex accent
`clubs`	`♣`	Black club suit; shamrock
`cong`	`≅`	Approximately equal to
`copy`	`©`	Copyright sign
`crarr`	`↵`	Downward arrow with corner leftward
`cup`	`∪`	Union; cup
`curren`	`¤`	Currency sign
`Dagger`	`‡`	Double dagger
`dagger`	`†`	Dagger
`darr`	`↓`	Downward arrow
`dArr`	`⇓`	Downward double arrow
`deg`	`°`	Degree sign
`Delta`	`Δ`	Greek capital letter delta
`delta`	`δ`	Greek small letter delta
`diams`	`♦`	Black diamond suit
`divide`	`÷`	Division sign
`Eacute`	`É`	Latin capital letter E with acute accent
`eacute`	`é`	Latin small letter e with acute accent
`Ecirc`	`Ê`	Latin capital letter E with circumflex
`ecirc`	`ê`	Latin small letter e with circumflex
`Egrave`	`È`	Latin capital letter E with grave accent
`egrave`	`è`	Latin small letter e with grave accent
`empty`	`∅`	Empty set; null set; diameter
`emsp`	` `	Em space
`ensp`	` `	En space
`Epsilon`	`Ε`	Greek capital letter epsilon
`epsilon`	`ε`	Greek small letter epsilon
`equiv`	`≡`	Identical to
`Eta`	`Η`	Greek capital letter eta
`eta`	`η`	Greek small letter eta
`ETH`	`Ð`	Latin capital letter ETH
`eth`	`ð`	Latin small letter eth
`Euml`	`Ë`	Latin capital letter E with dieresis (umlaut)
`euml`	`ë`	Latin small letter e with dieresis (umlaut)
`euro`	`€`	Euro sign
`exist`	`∃`	There exists
`fnof`	`ƒ`	Latin small with hook; function
`forall`	`∀`	For all
`frac12`	`½`	Vulgar fraction one half
`frac14`	`¼`	Vulgar fraction one quarter
`frac34`	`¾`	Vulgar fraction three quarters
`frasl`	`⁄`	Fraction slash
`Gamma`	`Γ`	Greek capital letter gamma
`gamma`	`γ`	Greek small letter gamma
`ge`	`≥`	Greater than or equal to
`gt`	`>`	Greater-than sign
`hArr`	`⇔`	Left/right double arrow
`harr`	`↔`	Left/right arrow
`hearts`	`♥`	Black heart suit; valentine
`hellip`	`…`	Horizontal ellipsis; three-dot leader
`Iacute`	`Í`	Latin capital letter I with acute accent
`iacute`	`í`	Latin small letter i with acute accent
`Icirc`	`Î`	Latin capital letter I with circumflex
`icirc`	`î`	Latin small letter i with circumflex
`iexcl`	`¡`	Inverted exclamation mark
`Igrave`	`Ì`	Latin capital letter I with grave accent
`igrave`	`ì`	Latin small letter i with grave accent
`image`	`ℑ`	Blackletter capital I; imaginary part
`infin`	`∞`	Infinity
`int`	`∫`	Integral
`Iota`	`Ι`	Greek capital letter iota
`iota`	`ι`	Greek small letter iota
`iquest`	`¿`	Inverted question mark
`isin`	`∈`	Element of
`Iuml`	`Ï`	Latin capital letter I with dieresis (umlaut)
`iuml`	`ï`	Latin small letter i with dieresis (umlaut)
`Kappa`	`Κ`	Greek capital letter kappa
`kappa`	`κ`	Greek small letter kappa
`Lambda`	`Λ`	Greek capital letter lambda
`lambda`	`λ`	Greek small letter lambda
`lang`	`〈`	Left-pointing angle bracket ; bra
`laquo`	`«`	Left-pointing double-angle quotation mark
`lArr`	`⇐`	Leftward double arrow
`larr`	`←`	Leftward arrow
`lceil`	`⌈`	Left ceiling; apl upstile
`ldquo`	`“`	Left double quotation mark
`le`	`≤`	Less than or equal to
`lfloor`	`⌊`	Left floor; apl downstile
`lowast`	`∗`	Asterisk operator
`loz`	`◊`	Lozenge
`lrm`	`‎`	Left-to-right mark
`lsaquo`	`‹`	Single left-pointing angle quotation mark
`lsquo`	`‘`	Left single quotation mark
`lt`	`<`	Less-than sign
`macr`	`¯`	Macron; spacing macron
`mdash`	`—`	Em dash
`micro`	`µ`	Micro sign
`middot`	`·`	Middle dot
`minus`	`−`	Minus sign
`Mu`	`Μ`	Greek capital letter mu
`mu`	`μ`	Greek small letter mu
`nabla`	`∇`	Nabla; backward difference
`nbsp`	` `	No-break space; nonbreaking space
`ndash`	`–`	En dash
`ne`	`≠`	Not equal to
`ni`	`∋`	Contains as member
`not`	`¬`	Not sign
`notin`	`∉`	Not an element of
`nsub`	`⊄`	Not a subset of
`Ntilde`	`Ñ`	Latin capital letter N with tilde
`ntilde`	`ñ`	Latin small letter n with tilde
`Nu`	`Ν`	Greek capital letter nu
`nu`	`ν`	Greek small letter nu
`Oacute`	`Ó`	Latin capital letter O with acute accent
`oacute`	`ó`	Latin small letter o with acute accent
`Ocirc`	`Ô`	Latin capital letter O with circumflex
`ocirc`	`ô`	Latin small letter o with circumflex
`OElig`	`Œ`	Latin capital ligature OE
`oelig`	`œ`	Latin small ligature oe
`Ograve`	`Ò`	Latin capital letter O with grave accent
`ograve`	`ò`	Latin small letter o with grave accent
`oline`	`‾`	Overline; spacing overscore
`Omega`	`Ω`	Greek capital letter omega
`omega`	`ω`	Greek small letter omega
`Omicron`	`Ο`	Greek capital letter omicron
`omicron`	`ο`	Greek small letter omicron
`oplus`	`⊕`	Circled plus; direct sum
`or`	`∨`	Logical or; vee
`ordf`	`ª`	Feminine ordinal indicator
`ordm`	`º`	Masculine ordinal indicator
`Oslash`	`Ø`	Latin capital letter O with stroke
`oslash`	`ø`	Latin small letter o with stroke
`Otilde`	`Õ`	Latin capital letter O with tilde
`otilde`	`õ`	Latin small letter o with tilde
`otimes`	`⊗`	Circled times; vector product
`Ouml`	`Ö`	Latin capital letter O with dieresis (umlaut)
`ouml`	`ö`	Latin small letter o with dieresis (umlaut)
`para`	`¶`	Pilcrow sign
`part`	`∂`	Partial differential
`permil`	`‰`	Per mille sign
`perp`	`⊥`	Up tack; orthogonal to; perpendicular
`Phi`	`Φ`	Greek capital letter phi
`phi`	`φ`	Greek small letter phi
`Pi`	`Π`	Greek capital letter pi
`pi`	`π`	Greek small letter pi
`piv`	`ϖ`	Greek pi symbol
`plusmn`	`±`	Plus or minus sign
`pound`	`£`	Pound sign
`Prime`	`″`	Double prime; seconds; inches
`prime`	`′`	Prime; minutes; feet
`prod`	`∏`	N-ary product; product sign
`prop`	`∝`	Proportional to
`Psi`	`Ψ`	Greek capital letter psi
`psi`	`ψ`	Greek small letter psi
`quot`	`"`	Quotation mark; APL quote
`radic`	`√`	Square root; radical sign
`rang`	`〉`	Right-pointing angle bracket; ket
`raquo`	`»`	Right-pointing double-angle quotation mark
`rArr`	`⇒`	Rightward double arrow
`rarr`	`→`	Rightward arrow
`rceil`	`⌉`	Right ceiling
`rdquo`	`”`	Right double quotation mark
`real`	`ℜ`	Blackletter capital R; real part symbol
`reg`	`®`	Registered sign
`rfloor`	`⌋`	Right floor
`Rho`	`Ρ`	Greek capital letter rho
`rho`	`ρ`	Greek small letter rho
`rlm`	`‏`	Right-to-left mark
`rsaquo`	`›`	Single right-pointing angle quotation mark
`rsquo`	`’`	Right single quotation mark
`sbquo`	`‚`	Single low-9 quotation mark
`Scaron`	`Š`	Latin capital letter S with caron
`scaron`	`š`	Latin small letter s with caron
`sdot`	`⋅`	Dot operator
`sect`	`§`	Section sign
`shy`	``	Soft hyphen
`Sigma`	`Σ`	Greek capital letter sigma
`sigma`	`σ`	Greek small letter sigma
`sigmaf`	`ς`	Greek small letter final sigma
`sim`	`∼`	Tilde operator
`spades`	`♠`	Black spade suit
`sub`	`⊂`	Subset of
`sube`	`⊆`	Subset of or equal to
`sum`	`∑`	N-ary summation
`sup`	`⊃`	Superset of
`sup1`	`¹`	Superscript 1
`sup2`	`²`	Superscript 2
`sup3`	`³`	Superscript 3
`supe`	`⊇`	Superset of or equal to
`szlig`	`ß`	Latin small letter sharp s
`Tau`	`Τ`	Greek capital letter tau
`tau`	`τ`	Greek small letter tau
`there4`	`∴`	Therefore
`Theta`	`Θ`	Greek capital letter theta
`theta`	`θ`	Greek small letter theta
`thetasym`	`ϑ`	Greek small letter theta symbol
`thinsp`	` `	Thin space
`THORN`	`Þ`	Latin capital letter THORN
`thorn`	`þ`	Latin small letter thorn
`tilde`	`˜`	Small tilde
`times`	`×`	Multiplication sign
`trade`	`™`	Trademark sign
`Uacute`	`Ú`	Latin capital letter U with acute accent
`uacute`	`ú`	Latin small letter u with acute accent
`uArr`	`⇑`	Upward double arrow
`uarr`	`↑`	Upward arrow
`Ucirc`	`Û`	Latin capital letter U with circumflex
`ucirc`	`û`	Latin small letter u with circumflex
`Ugrave`	`Ù`	Latin capital letter U with grave accent
`ugrave`	`ù`	Latin small letter u with grave accent
`uml`	`¨`	Dieresis (umlaut)
`upsih`	`ϒ`	Greek upsilon with hook symbol
`Upsilon`	`Υ`	Greek capital letter upsilon
`upsilon`	`υ`	Greek small letter upsilon
`Uuml`	`Ü`	Latin capital letter U with dieresis (umlaut)
`uuml`	`ü`	Latin small letter u with dieresis
`weierp`	`℘`	Script capital P; power set
`Xi`	`Ξ`	Greek capital letter xi
`xi`	`ξ`	Greek small letter xi
`Yacute`	`Ý`	Latin capital letter Y with acute accent
`yacute`	`ý`	Latin small letter y with acute accent
`yen`	`¥`	Yen sign; Yuan sign
`Yuml`	`Ÿ`	Latin capital letter Y with dieresis
`yuml`	`ÿ`	Latin small letter y with dieresis
`Zeta`	`Ζ`	Greek capital letter zeta
`zeta`	`ζ`	Greek small letter zeta
`zwj`	`‍`	Zero width joiner
`zwnj`	`‌`	Zero width nonjoiner

As I mentioned, as in HTML, XHTML supports various text-formatting tags, such as  for bold text,  for italic text, and  for underlined text. I'll take a look at them briefly because they're still very popular.