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| 8.1 Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is a markup language that uses
embedded tags that are read by a web browser and converted into
a web page. The language has evolved since its invention in 1994,
incorporating as standard tags many that were developed for specific
browsers.
Tip: Use an HTML editor that recognizes the latest version and one
version older of HTML, as defined by the World Wide Web consortium.
As of 2000, the versions are HTML 3.2 and HTML 4.0. HTML 4.0 has
been released, but many browsers do not yet fully support it.
This is likely to continue to be the case with each new release.
HTML editors have blossomed from a few small applications that
allowed only hand coding to more complex software with a graphical
interface (also known as "what you see is what you get" or WYSIWYG).
The WYSIWYG can make page creation much simpler; however, within
the graphical interface there may be programming that effectively
limits some options. For example, inserting graphics into a web
page via "drag and drop" may generate relative Hypertext links
that will have to be corrected before posting the page to a web
server.
Some programs will allow switching back and forth between the
graphical interface and HTML code, which can help overcome some
of these limitations:
Tip: If considering a WYSIWYG editor, choose one that still allows
editing of the HTML source code. Preference should be given to
those that do not try to "second guess" what was intended, but
leaves the code as is.
Tip: Learn HTML. If a web page does not appear as intended, WYSIWYG
editors are no substitute for knowing HTML code.
The following are resources (from "World Wide Web Home Page Guidelines
and Best Practices," prepared by the World Wide Web Federal Consortium,
revised November 1996):
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