What is Hyper Text Markup Language?

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People who know anything about HTML 4 or older versions of HTML might already know what Hypertext Markup Language is and what role it plays on the web. As soon as you start exploring the internet, you come across a bevy of images, content, graphics, text, audio, and video. Every web page seems unique, but one thing is common between all of them: the Hypertext Markup Language, which works in the background to display those pages.

You have to use HTML to create your web page regardless of the type of content you intend to use. It is the force that keeps the content together and prevents your page from falling apart. HTML is a basic website building block and all other content acts like supporting bricks. It is a must to have full mastery over HTML before moving on to more complex programming languages, such as CSS and JavaScript.

It is also pertinent to note that HTML 5 web pages are simple text files. Text is a universal method of feeding data to computers and browsers. Anything you create using HTML 5 or other versions on your Personal Computer (PC) will work equally well on Mac, Linux, and other operating systems.

 

Hypertext:


HTML contains special instructions which enable lines of text to point to information on internet. Such pointers are normally called as “hyperlinks,” which are the lifeline of the World Wide Web. Without hyperlinks, there is no World Wide Web. Your web browser usually displays hyperlinks as blue, underlined text. If they are clicked, the hyperlink will take you to another page on the internet.

HTML5


Now that you know what HTML is, it’s time to come back to HTML 5. The World Wide Web Consortium extended the charter of HTML 5— which is the latest version of the standard and the 5th revision in total— to a full working draft on February 14, 2011. HTML 5 enables you to create web applications that can interact with your local data and servers more easily than ever before; additionally, it provides rich media support. Initially, the World Wide Web Consortium developed HTML 5 to resolve compatibility issues which marred the previous version, HTML 4. The major difference between all previous versions and HTML5 is that the latter does not require APIs and proprietary plug-ins, which were responsible for creating compatibility issues. On the contrary, HTML

makes loading easier and ensures cross browser compatibility by offering a common interface for all. HTML 5 offers many new features which can totally change the way users interact with web. These features include but are not limited to:

New Attributes

New Parsing Rules

Lack of redundant elements and attributes

Detailed rules for parsing

Offline editing

Ability to store a MySQL data base using a common standard.

Creating an HTML 5 Document:


Now it is time to create your first ever web page using HTML 5. You can use any professional text editor such as Notepad + +, Sublime Text or Dreamweaver to edit HTML 5. Let us begin. Open the text editor of your choice and write some HTML in it. Take a look at the following example.

example:


<! DOCTYPE HTML >

< html >

< head >

< title > My First HTML 5 Document </ title >

</ head >

< body >

< h1 > HTML 5 Tutorial </ h1 >

</ body >

</ html >

Remember that HTML 5 documents always start with <! DOCTYPE HTML > which tells the web browser that this is indeed an HTML 5 document. Now you have to save the file on your computer. To do so, go to File and then click Save As in your editor’s menu. Name the file index.html (or give it any name of your choice, as long as it ends with .htm). Note that you can use both .htm and .html extensions.

Text Editors to watch for:


It is up to you to decide which text editor you want to use. It basically depends on your particular requirements and taste. The following are some of the best text editors for both PC and Mac:

Notepad + +

Sublime Text

Text Wrangler

Komodo Edit Text Edit

Adobe Dreamweaver Microsoft Expression

Web All of these text editors are high quality and can help you edit your HTML 5 document smoothly and without any hassle. However, beginners are recommended to use Text Edit for Mac or Notepad + + for PC.

Summary:


In this chapter, we discussed: What this book will cover What Hypertext Markup Language is The difference between HTML 4 and HTML 5 How to create an HTML 5 Document

Prescott, Preston (2015-05-29). HTML5: Discover How To Create HTML 5 Web Pages With Ease (HTML5 CSS3 JavaScript) (p. 7). . Kindle Edition.

 

 

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