Chapter 2 -- The Basics of HTML

Chapter 2

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the core technology that controls what any Web browser displays on screen. Regardless of how well you know other Web technologies, you'll find it impossible to create dynamic Web pages without an understanding of HTML.

HTML was originally designed so that scientists could create text-based documents containing both basic formatting commands (known as markup) and links to other information (known as hypertext or hyperlinks). For instance, a document about earthquakes could contain a link to another document about plate tectonics written by a different scientist. The creators of HTML had no idea that this technology would prove so powerful and useful that it would be the major cause of growth for the Internet, and in turn, the World Wide Web.