The TAG
A tag is a command that tells the computer what to print to the screen
or what action to do. Everything surrounded by a "<...>" are HTML tags.
These are how you personalize and develop your web page. Don't forget
most tags require a CLOSING tag, which is usually identical to the OPENING
tag, but includes a forward slash "</...>" to indicate that the
command is over. Read each section carefully, and study how the code results
in the browser. In this tutorial,after a set of code is introduced, a
table will follow if example is necessary. The top of the table contains
a sample of the code written as it needs to be, and below that is what
the code results in when viewed in a browser. When a new line of code
is added to an example, it is indicated with red font.
example: <body background="file.gif"> The background of your
page (graphic)
Simple code for a web page named "Hello World!"
<html>
<head>
<title>Simple code for a web page named "Hello World!"</title>
<body background=/bg/bg1.gif>
Hello World!<p>
</body>
</html>
Hello World!
For Directions for testing & viewing your HTML documents, Click
here.
Attention! If you are using Microsoft
Internet Explorer, some things such as list bullets and colors will appear
differently. It is best to view this tutorial using Netscape.
I hope you find this tutorial useful. You may contact
me for further help/detail, comments & questions at ki68@columbia.edu.
Thanks!
-Kathleen Ianacone
Where to type HTML
It may be helpful for you to open a word processor like MS Word (the
latest versions offer a "Save as Web Page" option under the
"File" menu!!!), Wordpad or Notepad (my personal favorite)
and copy the code into the empty document. Then save the document as
whatever you want the name to be with the extension ".html".
By double-clicking on the document, it will open in your Internet browser,
and you can see how your page will look to the user.
Most people these days use an editor. The new format for
this page was made using Dreamweaver. Other programs are available such
as Microsoft's FrontPage, and CuteHtml, and more. Some of these prgrams
are available through CNET at www.download.com.
When typing in HTML, you may use all capital letters,
all lowercase letters, or even a mix. You should choose whichever format
is easiest and most comfortable for you to use, but be consistant throughout
your code to minimize confusion. When arranging your code, use whitespace
liberally. Extra whitespace is ignored when your computer reads HTML
unless you use the <pre>
tag to tell it otherwise.
Code that is well spaced helps you to identify specific sections later.
When creating tables or lists,
it is also useful to indent where the indentations actually will appear.
(See lists for an example).
This site offers a great HTML
tutorial, as well. Webmonkey!
Webmonkey!
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