What is HTML
Now
that you have learned what you need to get started, we can
begin
with HTML. First you might (it's possible), be asking yourself,
what is HTML? HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. But
what
is it? HTML is a tag based language that was developed to define
elements of a document or web page. Web browsers, such as
Internet
Explorer were designed to Interpret HTML an other languages.
Each HTML tag tells the browser something about the web page,
and
the
browser Interprets the instruction, then displays what it Interprets.
You cannot make it any simpler than that. Some people claim
that
HTML is not a true programming language, and they are correct.
A programming language will write a group on instructions
for
the computer, whereas HTML is a group of instructions for the
browser to interpret.
How
to Begin
Before
you can begin you need the "tools" for the job.
In this case the tools you will need are, a program that you
can write
your code in, and you will also need a browser to test your code.
We will be using Notepad, and Internet Explorer 6.0. If you are
on a Windows based computer you probably have notepad. In Windows
version 95 and up, it should be located under: Start/Programs/Accessories.
Also, if you are on a Windows based computer, you probably have
some version of Internet Explorer. Any version will do for now,
but if you would like to upgrade, or check on the newest version,
go to the Microsoft
Internet Explorer Page. Notepad
is an ASCII text Editor. Any ASCII text editor will do.
Terminology
You
should learn some terminology before we begin. This way you will
know what I am talking about as we move along.
Tags: A tag is HTML code that is enclosed in Angle brackets
(< or >). These tags are the instructions for the browser
to interpret.
Containers:
Are the tags that will "contain" something. For example
the <center> </center> tags will have text, or other
content between them:
<center>
Some Text Here </center>
|--begin tag---|--Content of container--|--Close tag--|
Attribute:
These are special elements to tell the tag how something will
look or be placed on the page. For instance the body (<body>),
tag can contain many properties or attributes, such as the bgcolor
(background color), of the page. bgcolor is the property, if we
assign "red" as the background color, that is the attribute.
<p align="center">
Some Text Here
</p>
|--attribute---|
(To be Continued)....
