HTML

What does HTML stand for? What is it?
HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language, is a language that

uses text and a defined set of commands (known as tags) to create

most of what you see on a World Wide Web page. The tags can serve

two distinct functions: They either "tell" the text how to behave

(bold, italic, etc.), or make the text act as a command to insert a link,

picture, or sound onto your page.

What is the best way of going about learning HTML?
Reading helps, and so does practical experience; we recommend

a combination of both. You should start by finishing off the rest of

this page--it gives you a manageable-sized portion of answers to

questions you may have. You'll undoubtedly have more complicated

questions as you learn more. One the best ways to learn HTML is to

see how other people have done it!Using your favorite browser,

find your favorite page. Then look for the "Source" or "Document

Source" command under the "View" menu. This will show you a

window with all of the HTML used to create that page. Look it over;

more times than not, you'll be surprised at the relatively few

commands it took to put together what seemed at first like a

complicated page!

What do I use to write HTML? Is there a specific piece of software?
The easiest way is to use a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you

get)Web page creation program, which operates much like a word

processing package and (with a bit of your help) not only writes

your HTML for you, but also helps you put together your page from

start to finish. These programs are especially useful for those who

don't have the time or theinclination to learn all the nuts and bolts

of HTML, but you should at least have a cursory knowledge of HTML

before using them. Once people start working in HTML on a

production level, they often useHTML editors, which have special

features (such as automatically inserting closing tags; see below)that make HTML work fast and easy for people who know what they're

doing. HTML files are basically simple plain ASCII text files that can

be created with any text editor such as BBEdit for Macintosh, or Note

pad if you are using Windows. If you don't want to invest in either

of these programs, you can use your word processor program of

choice;just make sure that when you save your document, you save

it as "text only with line breaks," and make sure the filename ends in

".htm" or ".html".

What are the required elements for an HTML document?

Can you show me an example?
Every HTML document does require certain tags in order for it to

work. All of the basic tags work in pairs; whatever tag you use must

have a matching end tag in order for the browser to denote the begin-ning or end of a style or command. The only difference between the

beginning and ending tag in the pair is that the / must be used

with the second, or closing tag. All tags must be surrounded by < and >

, but are not case-sensitive; that is, typing in HtmL will be read by

the computer the same as HTML. For a basic HTML document, you need

only the five tags that arecontained in the following:

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>We Help You Make Your Own Web Page</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<H1>Question Five of the Web Developer Beginners HTML Page

</H1>
<P>This is a short example of how easy it is to make your own

Web page.</P>
<P>If you follow the guidelines here, you will be on the Internet in

time!</P>
</BODY>
</HTML>

In this example:

<HTML> indicates that this is a piece of HTML code.

<HEAD> is the first distinct part of your document. It contains the

TITLE.

<TITLE> provides a title in the header for your document. It is also

what

will be displayed by a browser when someone matches the keywords

that are applicable to your site.

<BODY> is the second and most distinct part of your HTML

document. It contains all of the body text; which can come in six

sizes.

<H1> denotes the size of this piece of body. For more information on

body sizes, see the intermediate HTML page. It will also contain other

tags, such as those that will link your page to others, and those that

will spice up your page with images and sounds.

<P> denotes the start of a new paragraph.

How do I put pictures on my Web site?
All pictures must be converted to one of several digital formats,

so you'll need a scanner and software (such as Adobe Photoshop)

to manipulate the picture into the form you wish to display it in; the

pictures don't appear there magically!

To get your pictures to display on a Web page, you must

use certain HTML tags to "point to" the picture files that, like your

HTML files,have been uploaded to a server. Where and how you place

the tags deems how the art will be viewed by a particular user. Pictures

can be saved in a variety of styles;the GIF format is the most commonly

recognized by various browsers, and is thus most commonly used.

The JPEG format is also fairly common; it creates better quality photos,

especially with scans. A program called GIF Converter is also helpful;

it converts files saved in the Macintosh PICT format to either a GIF or a

JPEG, and allows you to edit the files.

Here is the most common tag used to find and place a picture on a

Web page:

IMG SRC is the tag that codes a picture placement; "picture.gif" is

the nameof the GIF file that corresponds to the picture in question. This

filename will change based on the picture you are using.

How do I create links to other pages?
This is one of the most important things you need to learn, and

it's easy to do! You need to know two things; first, the exact address

of the page you are linking to, and then, the tag for linking. HTML's tag

for linking is <A>, which stands for anchor. To link your file to another

file, use <A followed by HREF="filename" and then close the command

with a right angle bracket.

The following is an example of a typical link to another page you've

created:

<A HREF="myfamily.htm">Here's my family's home page</A>

When clicked upon, this link, which will be viewed on a user's screen

"Here's my family's home page" with an underline underneath it, will

cause the user's browser to open the file "myfamily.htm". Linking to

any page anywhere on the Web is just a little more complicated,

since you must provide the exact, full URL address. The following HTML

code would link to Web Developer's home page:

<A HREF="http://www.webdeveloper.com/">Check out my favorite

site</A>

Note that a correct URL must include the "http://" at the beginning,

and must end with either a slash "/" character at the end

(for a domain name or directory) or a file name, usually ".htm" or

".html".