htmltips

Terms to know:

Server: the service that allows you the space to create a website. Internet Composer: the program that allows you to convert things to HTML, as well as simply create an HTML document. Upload: What the service generally provides you to save your HTML documents on the server. Microsoft Word: a non-html document composer. URL: a website’s address. Browsers: search engines, program that allows you to go from place to place on the web. Scripting: writing of programs, HTML or otherwise on the web. PC: a type of computer that is based more off of Microsoft windows. Computers with the brand names of IBM or Compaq are examples of PCs. Macintoshes: A type of computer based off of a different system from PCs. An example includes Apple computers.

Something extra: ^_^ = Internet happy face. I tried really hard not to make this boring, but this is programming after all, so it can’t help but be a little on the dry side. Sorry…

What I know:

Everyone loves to be able to express themselves in new ways, to go out into the world, make friends, and show what you’re capable of. To a person of the newer technological generation, there is no better way to show off your talents than through a website. Not only does it show that you’re capable of maintaining a website, it also shows that you know a thing or two about HTML, the language of the Internet. Through web pages, new and creative ideas spring forth. As more and more options come through this language, you’ll find that there’s no end to what you can do. A fire is sparked within your mind, and you find that you want to learn more. “Imagination is more important than knowledge,” Albert Einstein once said. In my opinion, curiosity and imagination are the two elements that brighten up your life. They allow you to unwind from harsh days, and give you some time to play, which is something that everyone can use. Through the research of HTML, any one can learn to use a computer to feel accomplished, have fun, and possibly even make profit.

To begin a website, one must always starts with two things: an Internet provider or Internet company that will allow space for a website (the server), and an Internet composer, a program that will allow documents to be converted to html. The main pages for Internet providers such as Yahoo and AOL will generally give a link to click on to find information about starting a website. In the beginning, these companies will usually have the author fill out some forms and surveys just before providing the first page to work with. Most providers will also offer their own downloadable software to help publish pages on the web. Composer software such as Microsoft FrontPage, and Netscape Composer allow authors to get around the HTML for a while, providing an easier and faster way to create a page. Sooner or later, however, all authors fall back to HTML because it offers more options in a precise manner.

The basics of HTML are fairly easy to learn, but if the author doesn’t feel quite up to doing all of the ‘programming’ by him or herself, there are many ways that an Internet provider and Internet Composer program can help. Whichever hosting site you align yourself with will generally have smaller programs that offer instruction. Some computers already come with programs such as ‘Netscape Composer’, or ‘Microsoft Front Page’, which allows you to get around HTML. Again, if such programs are still needed, Internet Providers should offer downloadable programs. Alternative websites also have tips and downloads you can look up. If you wish to enhance a web site to its peak quality, though, HTML is the language to use whenever the author feels ready to try.

When writing a Web Site, everything starts with an index page. This page is your homepage; it links to other pages that you may create. Most other pages will be uploaded, or saved onto your server by the uploading program that they provide. An example of one such program would be FTP. Generally, the providers will give you one, and write some of their own codes at the top to declare who the page belongs to, general sizes, and what company offered the site to the author. The company will also provide some information on the category your site will fall under; most providers will have you fill out surveys before giving you a page to begin a site.

The most basic building block of HTML includes the tag. Tags are used to make headings, titles, paragraphs, breaks in text, change font qualities, background colors, and create links. These are used a lot in making a website. Tags consist of a left angle bracket (<), a tag name, and a right angle bracket (>). These tags help a lot when it comes to organization. It’s also important to know that HTML isn’t sensitive to capitalization, therefore, it doesn’t matter whether you use capital or lowercase letters. Simply use the brackets (< >), and insert what you want the page to do or show. A page always starts out with the tag, <html>, this tells the site that the programming is beginning. This is what the site generator is going to read and put out into the web. This tag will go after the font and background information. Just as all tags must begin to create a website, all tags must also be ended. This is done by inserting a backslash in between the brackets just before the letter or word that symbolizes whatever is being changed or written. (</symbol>) This will allow authors to begin and end commands. All text generally begins with the simple paragraph.

Paragraphs tags look like this: , whenever you are done with a paragraph end the writing with . This will end your previous command, and will have to be done for most of your commands. Between the tags you can write whatever you wish. You can introduce yourself, or talk about what the website is about. The tag can also be used for spacing, though breaks, or s are better for it. To form spaces or ‘breaks’ within the text, authors use the tag . This is a simple pause between writing, or between writing and pictures. This offers a way to space everything out, and leave more room for designing a page.

In order to write good-styled paragraphs, Fonts are used. Fonts are another interesting part of HTML; they are the basic styles of text. Within the category of Font are colors, sizes, alignment, types of writing, as well as options like Italic, Bold, Underline. These character options are much the same as with the text in programs like Microsoft Word, your basic normal composer program. With this type of programming, you can change a font’s color, size, as well as its quality, and type. Tags are also used for this. In order to work with fonts, you have to start out with this tag: . To change something about the text on your page, insert what you want to change after it: . This is the general make up for html font colors. With my experience, however, this doesn’t always work, so I usually use hexadecimals to stand in for the colors.

Hexadecimals are number and letter codes that stand in for a color. There are many different types, and depending on what kind of Internet composer software you have, these codes may be listed. The code for red is #FF0000, for example, so the html for font color will look like this: . All font changes like these will be closed with a tag.

Just as color can make a big difference in the appeal of the text on a page, the styling of a font can also make a difference. Of course, you want to make sure that the text is legible and can be seen, but you also want to make sure that it’s not too boring. The default font type is Times New Roman, size 12, if you feel like adding a little more ‘flare’ to the website with something different, then type the beginning of the tag. After this is done, I would add to it. The font is inserted between the parenthesis, and then it's all closed with the tag. Size can be changed by taking the tag, … . The words that you wish the viewer to see should be written in between the tags. Alignment deals with where something is within a page; whether it’s on the left, <left> </left>, the right <right> </right>, of in the center, <center> </center>. To use these tags, one would simply type it after a normal font tag, and close it after the closing font tag. Putting (Italic) (underline) or (bold) in front of the text will change it for you. Just as in Microsoft Word, ‘Italic’ will make the font slant to the right, Bold will make the letters look thicker, and Underline will put a line under the words typed. As always, once you are done using those styles, close the HTML with or . Again, capitals don’t matter with HTML. ^^ Should you use more than one action with a font at once, such as changing the color, and then changing the font itself, then two tags must be used to close it. This goes with all tags, if you use three of the same tags to do something or change something, then three must close it. If you use two actions, two closing tags must be used. These ideas are what I’ve been using for a couple of years, and with this small bit of experience I can say that the author must be very careful with closings and such. If you make even one mistake in HTML, it shows.

There’s also a difference between changing text qualities through out the body, and setting up qualities in the beginning. At the beginning of a page, the text is usually set up like this: <body text = “hexadecimal code”>. Instead of using the ‘font face’ code, the html is written as the body text. This is stating what the text is always going to look like throughout the page, unless changed. This HTML is typed in just after the background color has been set in.

Playing around with fonts will make for a much more interesting page. Few will want to look through a page that doesn’t look good. Authors must also keep changing things around so that the viewers won’t get bored with what they are saying.

Just like Fonts, the color of the background can mean a lot as far as drawing attention from the people searching the web. The background of a page is what’s behind the text. If the background doesn’t go with the text, chances are people will have a hard time reading anything, and won’t generally bother to try and do so. It’s the same if the colors are too obnoxious. The background tag is <bg color =. Changing background colors is exactly like changing font colors in this case. The html for this is generally put at the top of the page, and hexadecimals should also be used for this because, again, they work better. Through the background color, authors can set moods, draw attention, and allow themes to be created on a page. Deciding how to lay out a page on a website is where the creativity and fun sets in. With this little bit of knowledge, you can already do almost anything. You can do just about everything, except for one more part: the heading.

Another trait vital to a web page includes headings, which are like titles. Just as the heading of a newspaper tells us what we’re going to read about, the heading of a website generally describes what the site offers. Headings are often used to draw a reader’s attention to the paragraphs below it. They are meant to draw attention, and capture the interest of the crowd that you are entertaining. If you wish to make a heading, use <head>, for a second heading, use <h2>, for a third, use <h3> and so on. To end a heading, use </head>, </h2> </h3> etc. More updated HTML will also give you the option of creating a title. The HTML for this will be <title> Insert title here </title>. All of this will help you get the first part of a page done. In order to get to the rest of the document, the tag <body> is used. This comes after the provider HTML, head, and font information. This information will lead into paragraphs, the true writing.

This is our page so far:

<bgcolor= “000000”
<Body text = “FFFFFF”
<html>
<head>
<TITLE>A Simple HTML Example</TITLE>
</head>

To leave the example above with only that much written would make a very boring page, therefore, images are used to draw attention. (^_^) As pictures have been known to draw attention in a magazine, images also do a lot for a website. They liven up the page, standing out from the background.. A typical image will have to be written into the html with this tag: <IMG SRC=. After this, you would plug in the picture’s name, or what it’s saved under. You must also tell the size of the picture just after the filename. The HEIGHT and WIDTH attributes let your browser set aside the appropriate space (in pixels) for the images as it downloads the rest of the file. Programs like Adobe PhotoShop will often give you the measurements, some browsers, like Geocities, do the same. If, however, an author ends up typing the figures in, they have to be careful, and make sure the figures are right. If the figures on the image are wrong, then the browser will try to fix it to fit the page, and in doing so, may only show a part of the picture. An example of this is: <img src= “C:\Visioneer Documents\kagechan.jpg" <HEIGHT=476 WIDTH=1024><HR WIDTH="100%">. Web sites generally respond better to JPG which is a type of file used for certain pictures; images can be converted from art programs (i.e. photo shop) to JPG. Art that is saved under a different program generally can’t be uploaded to a site. Images can also be copied off of other websites as long as the author agrees, so, if you have trouble making your images on art programs like Photo Shop, then there are still other ways to get them. If you have permission, all you then have to do is right click on the picture, copy, and then paste it. If you can’t copy the image then, ask the author of the page for the HTML for it. Images will help you a lot with drawing attention, and, depending on the site that you wish to create, you could have an entire page of pictures for people to look at. In order to have a large organized page for documents and pictures, most authors use links.

Links are another vital part of a website. In order to be able to go to other pages, the index page, or another’s site, we’ll need links to get to other places within the site. They appear as underlined writing that stands out in certain colors. Once the viewer clicks on a link, they are brought to other places within or even outside of your site. To make the links different colors on your site, you would generally use this sort of HTML at the top of the page: LINK= "hexadecimal" VLINK="hexadecimal", ALINK="hexadecimal">. The link is the color it is before the mouse of another person’s computer clicks on it, the vlink is what it looks like when it is clicked on, and the alink is the color it is after it has been clicked. This shows the reader where he or she has been within you website. When this HTML is written after the font specifications at the top of the page, the links will be ready to create. There are actually many different types of links, document links, URL links, and mail links. Each will allow different things for the reader to see, which will also broaden the page’s potential.

Document links will take the reader to the written sources that have been converted to HTML: an example of a document would be a story that was uploaded, another page within a website, or a page of simple instructions that you uploaded. These documents are generally written on a word processing program, and then converted to be uploaded using such programs as FrontPage and Netscape Composer. Some such documents can also be created on the Internet Compose without having to convert any text at all. Other pages connected to the home page also fall under the document category. To make a link from the home page to another page, the author may use the HTML shown below.

<a href is your main tag, and again you must tell the name of the object that you want to show, but now there’s something extra. The text after the second bracket is what the reader actually sees. Whatever the name of the document is can be plugged in between the brackets, this will let the view know that there’s a link, and will give them an idea of where it leads to. Once again, it is closed, but now with two tags. ends the writing that the viewer sees, and </a> ends the link action.

To make a link that goes to an image, the html will look like this: <img src= “name of picture”> Image name </a> This is much like a link to a document, except for the beginning tag. Just as before, only the text in between the filename and closing tags may be seen.

The next type of link that could be useful with a website would be a link to another website. This code does the same thing as the one above, but is much simpler as far as the HTML goes. For this one, we start with the <a href> tag, plug in the address of the website, type the word you wish the viewer to see, and close it so that it will look like this: <a href = “URL of site” Kage’s site! </a> This is similar to a link to a document, for the same tag is used, but because a separate site is being linked to, it’s full address must be used.

Lastly, one of the author’s greatest wishes generally includes a little support. When receiving mail from those who come to your site often, you feel a little more important; more recognized than you had before. This is another advantage to having your own website- flattery! When you write, or post good images, you may come to be respected within the cyber world. To create a mail link, the HTML begins with the same tag used for a document, then type in parentheses ‘mail to:’ and your E-mail address. Once the closing brackets are used, the author can type what he or she wants the reader to see. Example: <a href=“mailto: Email address”> E-mail me! </a> If that command doesn’t get you E-mail, nothing will. ^_^ (Honestly, though, don’t worry if your don’t get a lot of mail. There are lots of other sites around the web.)

The basic make-up for an index page will look like this:

<BODY TEXT="#FFCC33" BGCOLOR="#000000" (text and background color) LINK="#0000EE" (colors of links) VLINK="#FF6600" ALINK="#009900">

 <IMG SRC="C:\Visioneer Documents\kagechan.jpg" HEIGHT=476 WIDTH=1024>
<CENTER<HR WIDTH="100%"> (picture info. BR simply means ‘break’)

<HEAD>(same as h1)(bold)(italic)<center>~ Eclectic ~</CENTER></HEAD> (When 2 font codes are used, BOTH must be closed)
 
<html>

Welcome one and all to the place of fiction, and poetry! I am Kage,
your guide. ^_~ Within this website you will find a great plethora
of stories: some original, some not. There will be some old fanfiction
for Star Wars and Gundam Wing, but currently, I'm branching out and creating
my own little worlds, so most updates will probably be originals.
This site should be friendly to anyone with imagination. So, have fun while you're looking around, and don't forget to talk to me! All must E-mail me, for an author thrives on critique! Ta ta. (*whispers* Should anyone want to see their work up on a webpage be it writing, drawing, or whatever, I'll put it up for you. ^^ Click the link at the bottom of the page.) 
 

 
<a href="fictionpage.html"> To the fiction! </a>
 
<a href="poepage.html"> To the Poetry! </a>
 
<a href="linkspage.html"> To the Links </a>
 
<a href="allaboutme.html"> All About Me! </a>
 
Last updated: 2/21/01 (simple typing with the paragraph tag)
 
 Want to submit something? Contact me:
<a href="mailto:[email protected]"> Kage </a> (E-mail link)
 
 (ending of the entire page)
</center>
</body>
</html>

HTML can help us all reach out into the cyber world, giving us incentive to learn something as well as create things that will stay up as long as we update them. With this information, the new technological generation may embrace the future, to have fun as well as make possible business ventures on the web. Knowing HTML may help me later in life depending on what kind of career I chose. Being able to do things like this at an early age will make your chances greater when it comes to being hired by an Internet company. For the time being, it’s all for fun, but I know it can also lead me to better places in life.

What I would like to Learn:
In this little project, I wish to learn some of the more advanced techniques of HTML. What I already know is good for someone of a low intermediate lever, but no higher than that. I’d like to know how to do more things with graphics, and also how to make tables, input sounds, and create input fields. In addition, It’d be interesting to know a little more about how HTML actually began. In short, I’d like to know more advanced HTML so that I can do more things with my website, and I’d also like to know a little more on the background history of this computer language. Whatever I can learn to ‘upgrade’ my skills is what I’m searching for, though tables are the most to me, because I’ve been trying to figure that out for quite some time.
What I have Learned:
One HTML trick that will come in handy includes lists. If you ever need to list 1something when you’re typing to your many fans on your page, this is how you would go about it. Start with an opening list <UL> (or unnumbered list) tag enter the list item tag: <LI>, then, followed by the item, end the entire list with a closing list </UL> tag. This kind of a list may help you get your point across when you’re typing about something for which you feel strongly about, or help you educate other people through a step by step process.

A definition list uses the tag, <DL>, and consists of alternating a definition term, <DT>, and a definition, <DD>. Web browsers generally format the definition on a new line and indent it.
The following is an example of a definition list:

<DL>
 <DT> Loquacious
 <DD> Describing someone or something that is
very verbose, sometimes needlessly.
 <DT> Belabor
 <DD> To thrash soundly.

Educators like Mrs. LaRoca can use this kind of system on their websites to teach vocabulary. …Whenever they decide to create websites. ^^

As a beginner, creating a website may be frustrating. It takes quite a while to memorize codes, and to know when to use which. Though it may be tough, authors need to keep trying. Sooner or later it’ll make since through the practice. One thing that may come in handy when you’re trying so hard not to make mistakes is this simple idea: be careful with your tags. Many times when creating a webpage, there are errors to deal with. One way to avoid this is to avoid overlapping tags.
Consider this example of HTML:
This is an example of overlapping
HTML tags.

The word overlapping is contained within both the and tags. A browser will confused by this type of coding and won’t display it the way you want it to. The only way to know is to check each popular browser. To avoid overlapping, one must look at the tags in use, and try to pair them up. Tags should be paired without any intervening tags in between. To see if there are any overlapping problems, you should try matching your coding up. If two actions are going on at the same time, but the tags aren’t connected, then the tags are most likely overlapping. In order to fix the problem above, I would change the location of the Italic tag so that the HTML will look like this:
 This isn’t an example of overlapping tags.

Another subject that I wanted to get more into included images. We all know that a good picture can make a difference in a website’s appeal, and some would even conclude that the bigger the image is the greater attention it gets. Creating images that can span the entirety of a page may allow a lot of interest to come your way, thus making for a popular website; depending what all you put on the site, of course. Background graphics, like any image, can benefit a site’s appeal. In general, if you want to include a background, make sure your text can be read easily when displayed on top of the image. Background images can include texture, or an image of an object. You create the background image as you do any image, but you only have to create a small piece of the image. Using a feature called tiling, a browser replicates an image enough times to fill your window. This action is automatic when you use the background tag shown below. The tag to include a background image is included in the <BODY> statement as an attribute:
<BODY BACKGROUND="filename.gif">

With this HTML, you can allow a great picture to span across your page or repeat in a tile like formation while still being able to see the text and links on the page. This idea is similar to a picture on a computer’s desktop, which is the image you generally see after the computer is turned on. The picture in the background will add an interesting look to any website, as long as the colors and image are chosen wisely. If the colors don’t quite look right however, the author may have some editing to do.

In addition to background effects, I also learned about image maps from this website. With this little trick, I can create images that link to other pages, or a banner that would connect to mine. If I gave this image to other sites, I would then have something akin to advertisement. More people would come over to your site, if another recommended it. Image maps are pictures that allow you to link to other places. This isn’t the same as a graphical link, however. The difference between the two is that a map will generally give you more places to go. For an Image Map, or a link through an image, the HTML will begin to look a little more complicated. First, you must write the html for the picture (address that the picture is on), and then write the address to the website again. An example of this would be, <img src= “URL”> <use map= “URL”>. As well as being able to use this as a link to another site, you may also use image maps as links to different pages on your site. This would be a more creative way to make links between all of your pages.

Besides being an interesting webpage author as far as graphics and such, the author also needs to be considerate and think of the viewers of his or her site. Some World Wide Web browsers can’t display images. Some users turn off image loading even if their software can display images. This usually occurs when if they are using a modem or have slow connections. To compensate for this, HTML provides a mechanism that leads certain “websurfers” to other places should they have trouble seeing a certain image or document.

The ALT attribute lets you specify text to be displayed instead of an image. For example:

The DownArrow.gif image is a picture of an arrow pointing downward. With graphics-capable viewers that have image loading turned on, you see the up arrow graphic. With a text-only browser or if image loading is turned off, the word Up is shown in your window in place of the image. Authors should try to include alternate text for each image used in the document, which is a courtesy for readers. If you allow this simple alternative text to be seen, readers may respect you more for being so considerate. Furthermore, you may also show off the HTML that you know by doing this.

Graphical links are another attribute that can help sites look more creative, and well polished. Inline images can be used as hyperlinks just like plain text, and just like text, the picture you use can make a big difference. These you can also use as banners to your site, if you make it look good, then the readers will be more interested. By giving your banner to other authors, more people will probably stop by to look around the site. You may also use this link to go from one page to another within a website. To have inline images as links, the author must use an anchor tag, which is basically giving the link to the other page on which the picture lies. After this anchor is typed out, the file must come after. So far, we have this HTML: <A HREF= “page link to…”><IMG SRC=”Art file.”> After this, you may want to be courteous to your viewers, by using the alternative document once more so that those with slow browsers or old computers may still see something. The following HTML code:
<A HREF="URL, or document file"><IMG SRC="art file" ALT="[url, file}"></A>

Information on how to make tables was one of the first things that I found, thankfully. With the knowledge of how to create them, I can now organize my site a lot more. At first, I thought that tables would be created much like a page would; I was certain that the information put up at the top would make a table to fit an entire page. What I’ve found, however, has proved me wrong. Before HTML tags for tables were created, authors had to carefully format their tabular information within <PRE> tags, counting spaces and previewing their output. Tables are very useful for presentation of step by step, or specific information. A table uses heads to explain what the columns or rows include rows for information, cells for each item. This is the information at the top, but the HTML still goes on. The first column contains the header information, while each row explains an HTML table tag, and each cell contains a paired tag or an explanation of the tag's function.
The general format of a table looks like this:

<TABLE>

<CAPTION> caption contents </CAPTION>

<TR>

<TH> first header cell contents </TH>
<TH> last header cell contents </TH>
</TR>

<TR>

<TD> first row, first cell contents </TD>
<TD> first row, last cell contents </TD>
</TR>

<TR>

<TD> last row, first cell contents </TD>
<TD> last row, last cell contents </TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>

The <TABLE> and </TABLE> tags surround the table. The first item inside the table is the CAPTION, which is optional. It’s a basic name for a table, almost like a second header, it describes what the table is supposed to be showing. Once this much is done you can then have any number of rows defined on a page by the <TR> and </TR> tags. Within a row you can have any number of cells with the <TD>...</TD> or <TH>...</TH> tags. Each row of a table is formatted independently of the rows above and below it. This will let you display tables easily, also giving you the option of spanning the columns of the table. With tables, the author is allowed to be succinct with their data. Tables may also hold links to certain documents or images, which will help organize pages that contain a lot of those types of subjects.

In addition to organization, sound effects also bring a lot of character within a website. After all, the order that comes from tables wouldn’t be anything without the fun of animation. ^^ Animations and sounds are pretty much the fun part of creating a site, or so it seems. When music comes on at any particular site, it catches the most attention. Just like images, sound effects like music is often what catches the reader and draws them in. Depending on the animation, it can make the viewer willing to stay and search your site more than they would normally. One thing I will say, however, is that animations shouldn’t be used on a page that contains a story. It’s a little distracting to try to read and listen at the same time. (^_^) An author should have fun with the readers, but shouldn’t ask them to multi task.

When dealing with external images, sounds, or animations, the creators may want to have an image open as a separate document. If they do, an inline version of the image will be included in the document when the viewer activates the link. This is called an external image, and it is useful if you do not wish to slow down the loading of the main document with large inline images.

The html to include a reference to an external image, is:
<A HREF="MyImage.gif">link anchor</A>

For a smaller image as a link to a larger image, enter:
<A HREF="LargerImage.gif"><IMG SRC="SmallImage.gif"></A>

With the second example, the reader can see the SmallImage.gif image. When they click on it, the small image opens up to show a larger version of it: the LargerImage.gif file. This may be convenient to use when you don’t want extremely large images taking up room on the page as well. You can also use the same syntax for links to external animations and sounds. The only difference between these codes is the file extension of the linked file. Links for this animations and sounds will look like this: <A HREF="AdamsRib.mov">link anchor</A>. Once again, you must remember your viewer’s access software. To be courteous, use an alternative text.

As far as the effects went, I was under the impression that it would be more complicated. A piece in the book, ‘Creating Web Pages For Dummies’ told me that I would have to get information from the websites of programs used to play music or do any type of sound effect. That paragraph led me toward the impression that I would have to sign up for something under those programs’ sites. Shortly after reading that, I was slightly worried that I may be forced to pay some sort of fee for doing any animating, but I suppose I simply got mislead by the words. Thankfully, simple HTML was all that I needed.

2 The last bit of HTML I could find among the web sites and books included information on how to create Input Fields. I was really glad to find this as well, because using this, I believe I can start creating my own guestbooks as well as surveys to add to my humble cyber abode that is my website. (^_^) Input Fields are very much like question and answer boxes that allow the viewer to respond to certain things on a page. Using these, a webpage author may create little surveys or chain letters to put up on their site, and best of all, the author may also read all of the responses because they end up getting saved when viewers submit their answers. (^_^) In a way, Input fields really bring the author and readers together more. Should you get to know one of your readers well enough through things like the guestbook and surveys, then you may even become friends with them. Friends are always a good thing to have out on the web, simply because you can have someone to talk to when you’re on the Internet.

The HTML for an Input Field is:
<Input type= “Text 1 (spiral arrow…. Programs should offer this.) 2
Password/checkbox (spiral arrow)
Radio/Image/Hidden/ (spiral arrow)
Submit or Reset”>

Input fields are very useful in creating little questionnaires and such to put on your website. This can be fun for the viewer. Generally, you would add an input field by creating a link to it, and putting the HTML for the field itself on a separate page. It can be yet another thing to brighten up the site, and make it a little more interactive. This is now the extent of my current knowledge on HTML codes, and I’m proud to say that I’ve learned approximately 10 pages worth of information. I think many of these will be used on my website as soon as I find the time to update things.

My last mission for HTML knowledge was to find out how it all began. Out of pure curiosity, I wanted to know some background history on the language and the people who created it. While information on the history of HTML was a little hard to gather, but I managed to get some facts. 3HTML was originally created as a language for the exchange of scientific and other technical documents, suitable for use by the average person. The older language, SGML wasn’t working, so they worked to find a better way, which is when these workers stumbled upon this language. HTML addressed the problem of SGML’s complexity through the usage of tags. 4This type of HTML programming has been in use by the World Wide Web (WWW) global information initiative since 1990. In addition to simplifying the document structure, HTML added support for hypertext as well as adding Multimedia capabilities later on down the line. In a brief period, HTML became wildly popular and rapidly outgrew its original purpose. Since this Internet language began, there has been rapid invention of new elements for use within HTML. 5Authors type it in from scratch- to sophisticated WYSIWYG authoring tools. (What you see is what you get). Using these old tools, much became possible. Ideas could take flight from the mind to the computer with the programming options of HTML. New versions of HTML came out rapidly, each correcting the mistakes made by the last version.

Just as any company changes and grows, so has the language of the Internet. Some people have given up on HTML in this late day, stating that the type of programming is ancient, and can’t do enough. Still, while many have turned to ‘the new and better’, HTML skills are still good to have. Knowing and understanding the basics of the older language may help people to understand the newer languages. Though the style is older, HTML is still forever changing to suit the needs and purposes of the webpage author. Having gone through several stages of evolution, today's HTML has a wide range of features reflecting the needs of a very diverse and international community wishing to make information available on the Web.

The people behind to programming of HTML as well as the web each came from different backgrounds and places. Still, although they were all different in that sense, two things remained: their love for the computer, and their nearly modern computer intelligence. The Web owes its origins to the many inventors of the computer world. The basic document model for the Web was all set when these people truly came along. The idea had been there for quite some time, but nothing had truly come of it. All text, graphics, and cross-references to other works could be written down in coding. These early hypertext links could target documents to a fine level because of the fine people who worked so hard on it.

In the 1940s, a man by the name of Dr. Bush described his vision for a computer aided hypertext system called the memex. He wrote about it in his article ‘As we may think’. His description of browsing the Web of linked information, included the ability to easily slip in new information of your own to add to the growing web. Dr. Bush was the Director of the US Office of Scientific Research and Development. He coordinated much of the wartime research in the application of science to war.

Other visionaries include Douglas Engelbart, who founded the Augmentation Research Center at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in 1963. He was widely credited with helping to develop the computer mouse, hypertext, groupware, and many other things. This man now directs the Bootstrap Institute, which is a school dedicated to the development of collective IQ in networked communities.

Another man who contributed to the progress of the Internet is Ted Nelson. Nelson has spent his life advancing a global hypertext system called Xanadu. He coined the term hypertext, and is well known for his books: Literary Machines and Dream Machines. Both of these books describe hypermedia including branching movies, such as the film at the Czechoslovakian Pavilion at Expo `67.

A fellow contributor named Bill Atkinson was best known for MacPaint, an easy to use bitmap painting program. He gave the world its first popular hypertext system: HyperCard. Released in 1987, HyperCard made it easy for anyone to create art that could be uploaded on the web. The program featured bitmapped graphics, form fields, scripting, and fast full text search. HyperCard spawned many imitators such as Asymetrix Toolbook, which used drawn graphics and ran on PCs.

Computer revolutionaries Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Caillau both worked at CERN, which was an international high-energy physics research center near Geneva. In 1989 they collaborated on ideas for a linked information system that would be accessible to all CERN systems worldwide. At that time many people were using TeX and PostScript for their documents. A few were using SGML. Tim realized that something simpler was needed to cope with all of technology’s flaws. HTML was conceived as a very simple solution, and matched with a very simple network protocol called HTTP. CERN launched the Web in 1991 along with a mailing list called www-talk. Other people thinking along the same lines soon joined and helped to grow the web by setting up Web sites and implementing browsers. The break through came when the National Center for Supercomputer Applications (NCSA) encouraged Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina to develop the X Window Mosaic browser. It was later added to the software capabilities of PCs and Macs. Soon, it became a grand success story. The Web grew exponentially, and ended other Internet systems like WAIS, Hytelnet, Gopher, and UseNet.

Still today, work crews are at the computers, making decisions, and changing the face of Internet programming. To develop the next generation of HTML as a suite of XML tag sets with a clean migration path from HTML 4. From the old HTML, web publishers hope to create an advanced form that will battle against the other languages just as HTML had done before it. This advancement is called XML. Some of the expected benefits of this new programming include reduced authoring costs, an improved match to database and workflow applications, a modular solution to the increasingly differing capabilities of browsers, and the ability to cleanly integrate HTML with other XML applications. So, once more, the workers writing the new HTML will mark a new course in the cyber world, enabling each and every one of us the ability to express ourselves in more creative ways.

The language of the Internet is still on high these days; allowing everyone to be able to express themselves as they never had before. Web sites have brought people business, friends, and most important of all, creativity. Not only will understanding HTML help people to understand more about computers and the Internet, it may also give treasure. Whether it is a treasure of the heart, or simple cash, the language of the computer world will change the shape of the future, as well as a web page author’s life.

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