Chapter 4: Links and Addressing

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Overview

In previous chapters, you saw how HTML or XHTML can be used to structure a document, but little has been said about the hypertext aspect of the language. HTML/XHTML make it possible to define hyperlinks to other information items located all over the world, thus allowing documents to join the global information space known as the World Wide Web. Linking is possible because every document on the Web has a unique address, known as a uniform resource locator (URL). The explosive growth of documents on the Web has created a tangled mess, even when document locations are named consistently. The disorganized nature of many Web sites often leaves users lost in cyberspace . Finding information online can feel like trying to find the proverbial needle in a worldwide haystack. However, it doesn't have to be this way if designers pay attention to site structure.

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