HTML Authoring I

This chapter will introduce the primary functions of HTML, HTML editing, HTML tags and URL's. If you are familiar with HTML you may want to proceed to HTML II in the next chapter.

HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language)
HTML is the authoring language that is used to create documents on the World Wide Web. HTML defines the structure and the layout of a web documents by using a variety of tags and attributes. HTML is defined in the Standard Generalized Markup Language or SGML.

SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language)

SGML is a system for organizing and tagging elements of a web document. SGML is often used to manage large documents that are subject to frequent revisions and printed different formats. However, with the growth of the World Wide Web SGML is becoming more common.

HTML Tags
A tag is a command that is inserted in a document that specifies how the document, or a portion of the document should be formatted. For example, a font tag <font> is used to specify written words or numbers. To close the tag, simply add a slash in the beginning of the tag as follows: </font>.

Basic HTML (Tags) Document Template

<html>
<head
    <title></title>
</head>

<body>
</body>
</html>

Here is an example of basic HTML code in action:

<html>
<head><title>Welcome</title></head>

<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">

    <font face="Arial" size="2">
    <h1>Welcome to Road Runner</h1>
    <P>Visit <a href="http://www.bizclasshosting.com">Road Runner, Inc.</a> today!
    <P>Please contact your Affiliate for support.
    <img src="photo.jpeg">

</body>
</html>

There are hundreds of other tags used to format and layout the information in a Web page. For instance, <P> is used to make paragraphs and <I> … </I>is used to italicize fonts. Tags are also used to specify hyperlinks.

URL - Uniform Resource Locator
A URL describes the location and access method of a resource on the Internet, for example, the URL http://www.bizclasshosting.com describes the type of access method being used (http) and the server location which hosts the Web site (www.bizclasshosting.com). All Web sites have URLs.

The main task of Internet browsers consist of making resources accessible, which are somewhere on the Internet. Resources can be HTML documents, pictures, program tapes, news-articles, a telnet session, etc.

Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks are generally the text or picture that you find on a web site that can be "clicked on". These links will take users to another web page or a different area of the same web page. Hyperlinks are created or "coded" in HTML as follows:

If you choose to link to a web page you will need to create a link in your HTML as follows:

<a href="http://www.testpage.com">

If you choose to insert a picture:

<img src="picture.jpeg">

HTML & Internet Browsers
An HTML page should appear the same in every browser. Therefore, each web designer should always verify that the document looks the same in several different browsers. Differences between browsers are starting to become less frequent, but each program can react differently so it is good policy to check the documents carefully.

HTML Editors
HTML documents can be designed in a normal text editor such as Notepad, but this can be a tedious task. HTML editors are available to assist web designers with common tags, shortcuts and generally good HTML language skills. HTML editors are available on the Internet and most have a 30-day trial version or free offer.

Using HTML editors may be easier than writing HTML manually however, there are advantages to learning the HTML language and using these editors as additional support tools. First, understanding basic HTML language skills can be an invaluable asset when designing web documents. The designers must understand the purpose of the tags and attributes in order to design pages quickly. Second, if a designer chooses to create customized CGI scripts or other programming tasks, it is imperative that HTML is used.