Introduction to HTML

Making websites assumes knowledge of HTML language (hypertext markup Language). It is a markup language, introduced by Tim Berners-Lee. Being a language of marking, HTML does not use directions or orders, but labels, they are also called beacons, elements or tags.

Origins

One of the first elements, basic otherwise, of WWW (world wide web) is HTML, norme describing major format in which documents are distributed and seen over the Web. Many of his features, such as Independence on platform, structuring the format and hypertext links, makes of it a very good documents format for Internet and Web. The first specifications of the web have been HTML, HTTP and URL.

Aim and meanings

HTML was originally developed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989. HTML is a language based on sgml (standard generalized markup Language), a so-called application of it (sgml is a Norme International-8879) approved in 1986. HTML was initially seen as an opportunity for fizicians using different computers to change their information through the Internet. They were therefore required a few essential conditions: independence platform, opportunities and structuring locator documents. Independence platform mean that a document can be displayed in similarly (or almost identical) of different computers (hence the font, graphics and color exactly alike), which is vital for a large audience and extremely diverse. Locator is translated by the fact that any word, phrase, image or element of the document seen by a user (customer) can make reference to another document or even a paragraph in the same document, with smooth sailing between parts of a document or between multiple documents. The structuring of rigorous documents allow their conversion from a format to another and data bases and so these documents.

Beginning

Born 30 years ago in an attempt to solve some problems encountered transporting documents between different computers, the language locator evolved slowly. In the first years of evolution HTML started slow mainly because they were missing opportunities to relay electronic publications professional; language enabled control over some points but did not allow inserting graphics. In 1993, NCSA has enriched the language in order to allow inserting graphics and built the first Shipman graphic: mosaic. There followed an ad hoc contributions of the various companies that have brought all sorts of language HTML additions so that, in 1994, the language seemed out of control. The consequence was that the first conference room at Geneva (Switzerland) was set up a group of Specialists (HTML made group) whose first mission was standardization of HTML, which has resulted in HTML 2.0. Important action of this group is the fact that, once the language was standardized it could then be extended on a more controlled level.

Standardization

The standard HTML is officially given by the World Wide Web Consortium (w3c), which is affiliated to the Internet engineering Task Force (IETF). W3c has expressed several versions of HTML specifications, which included HTML 2.0, HTML 3.0, HTML 3.2 HTML 4.0 and, most recently, HTML 4.01. In the same time, the authors of browsers such as Microsoft and Netscape were developing their own "extensive" HTML process outside the rules and incorporating into their browsers. In some cases (such as the Netscape tag), these extensives became standards adopted by authors of browsers. When the browser loaded a HTML document, it "reads" the document in search for HTML tags, text and images and display them on screen. It Is the reason for the same HTML document appears slightly different when view in different browsers. Stages through which a standard developed by w3c passes are:

• Any standard begins his adventure as W3C Notes.
• From here it is picked up by a particular group work (Working Group) and is discussed until a consensus is reached.
• At the moment it is published as a proposal (Working Draft), at this stage anyone canmake comments.
• When support is obtained and a sufficiently broad consensus, W3C Director decides whether the specification is ready to become a formal proposal for a Recommendation (Proposed Recommendation).
• Follows a period of six weeks in which all members the chance to vote W3C recommendation proposal, voting is not mandatory, being able to vote in four different ways:
  • Yes;
  • Yes, subject to such improvements;
  • Not until certain conditions are not met.;
  • No, the specification be abandoned.
• W3C Charter stipulates the need to obtain complete consensus, so that every vote should be an unqualified yes.
• If all previous steps have been completed, the final specification to be approved by the Director and published as a standard (W3C Recommendation).

Why HTML

But why  was  HTML favorite for Web publishing, electronic publishing to achieve when there are many other technologies? The first reason is simplicity. The second is that it allows ASCII text formatting tags in ASCII format. The result is a better compression, support for hypertext links and easy to write browser for viewing documents.

HTML 2.0

Prepared in June 1994, is the standard that it should cover all current browsers - including those in text mode. HTML 2.0 reflects the original conception of HTML as a markup language independently existing objects, focusing on putting them on the page, instead of specifying exactly how pages should look like. If you want to be sure that all visitors will see pages as it should, use HTML 2.0 tags.

Version 3.0

HTML 3.0 Specification, set in 1995, tried to develop HTML 2.0 by adding features such as tables and greater control of text flow around images. Although some HTML 3.0 was widely adopted by browsers, many were not yet formalized. In some cases, alternative approaches implemented by browsers have become more common than "official" tags. HTML 3.0 specification has expired soon, so there is now an official standard.

Version 3.2

In May 1996, W3C has released the HTML 3.2 specification, which was designed to reflect and to standardize practices widely accepted. So HTML 3.2 includes HTML 3.0 tags that were adopted by browser such as Netscape and Microsoft HTML extensions plus new.

HTML 4.0, HTML 4.01 Revolution

At the moment, HTML 4.0 is widely used and have already been published specifications HTML 4.01. HTML language can gives Web designers:

• to publish documents with headers, texts, tables, lists, photos, etc.
• to find online information by using hyperlinks accessed by a mouse click
• to design forms for the transactions with remote servers, to search for specific information or trade
• to including spreadsheets, videos, sounds and other applications directly into documents.

Element made essentially different from the version 4.0 and especially 4.01 to version 3.2 is separable structure of a document's presentation by introducing the "documentstyle" (style sheet). Using HTML for structuring a document and style sheets to style its production sites, designers can more easily obtain the independence of peripheral /computer / hardware-software platform, which made HTML so popular. A document with a complex structure can be presented in different ways on different media, allowing the document itself to easily adapt to new technologies (such as, for example, browsers able to talk, braille readers, etc. ...).
In addition, separating content from presentation to change the appearance or even a whole site just by changing a style-sheet (of a document that describes the style). Experience has shown that such an approach can dramatically reduce the cost of servicing a wide range of platforms and issues, facilitating and subsequent maintenance and modifications much easier.

HTML is used to structure information in a Web page to determine the beginning of the title, contents page and end page. This information is performed by the HTML tag that explains the browser how to display text on the monitor screen. Tags in English means "label". In order to distinguish it from the text itself, the tags are special brackets ie < and >. The tags are usually used in pairs, for example, to write some text in bold is used to open the text itself <b> tag </ b> and using the same marker at closing plus sign / that specifies that there is closed above the mark with the same name opened.

Early versions of the language were quite limited, but then, with web development and the emergence of several browsers were introduced several tags, elements and attributes for an impact and structuring of information from a page than better. While current browsers can display a web page even if that syntax is not correct, it is preferable to meet the standards, so be sure that page will see approximately the same on any browser. I say "approximately" and not "just" because some browsers are not fully comply with standards.

Next, we'll try to explain something about the structure and syntax of an HTML document.

For any Web document must be assigned a type. This type is specified in the first line of the document. It is important to be able to distinguish the HTML document type or other type of existing XHTML. For HTML documents, there are three types, strict, transitional and frameset. In large documents such as "strict" excluded from the presentation attributes and elements with support for page formatting (CSS), the "Transition" includes those attributes and those of "frameset" are generally constructed of several pieces (frame)

The next line contains a tag that states that the browser starts a document in HTML format.

The following line specifies the top of the document, the headers (head). In this part includes various information such as title page, or various tags that say Bowser certain information about the current page. These tags are known as meta-tags and tags is more important than normal. If specified above example is a meta-tag that tells the browser what kind of characters are used in the current page (useful if you write pages in several languages, browsers and search engines will know how to display those characters pages).

The next line in the header is the line that contains the title of the current page. It is preferable that each web page have a title as meaningful (useful in the search engines, but useful if you want to print the page). After the header follows the actual content of the document, which is specified by <body> opening tag. 
Between this and the tag until the browser encounters the closing tag </ body> can put the actual content of the page, ie text, tags, text formatting, layout elements and hypertext 
The last line of the document must always be closing tag of the HTML document that is the tag </ html> 

An HTML document can be written in any text editor that knows how to save text formatting (like Notepad, but not the Word). HTML documents usually have the extension .htm or .html but there may be other extensions such as .dhtml or .xml or .php, other extensions are given different types of HTML documents, which speak as one to discuss them. After creating a page to check if it is compatible with standard can be checked at http://validator.w3.org/ automatically verifying the correctness of the structure and syntax page.