Use this tag for questions about teaching HTML or using HTML in the classroom. DO NOT use this tag for questions or help with HTML itself. HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) is the standard markup language used for structuring web pages and formatting content. HTML describes the structure of a website semantically along with cues for presentation, making it a markup language, rather than a programming language.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the main markup language for creating web pages and other information to be displayed in a web browser.
It was invented by Sir Tim Berners-Lee while at CERN to enable researchers to share their findings. The latest version for HTML is HTML5.1.
HTML elements form the building blocks of all websites. HTML allows images and objects to be embedded and can be used to create interactive forms. It provides a means to create structured documents by denoting structural semantics for text such as headings, paragraphs, lists, links, quotes and other items. It can embed scripts written in languages such as JavaScript which affect the behavior of HTML web pages.
Syntax
HTML is written in the form of elements consisting of tags (and their attributes) enclosed in angle brackets (e.g., <html>), within the web page content. Angle brackets are also referred to as left and right guillemets or chevrons.
HTML tags most commonly come in pairs. The first is known as the opening tag and the second, which includes a forward slash, as the closing tag (e.g., <h1> and </h1>). Various types of content, such as text or additional HTML elements, can be contained within these tags. Some tags, however, are unpaired, and these are known as empty elements or self-closing tags. They may or may not include the slash (e.g., <img> or <img />).
All these tags are used collectively to form an HTML document. Web browsers read these documents, interpret each of their HTML tags, and then render the corresponding visual and/or audible display in the form of a webpage.
Standards
HTML standards, as well as those for many other web technologies, are maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium
HTML4 was introduced in 1997, and the latest iteration, HTML5, was recently developed by the W3C. What W3C calls HTML5 is a subset of the HTML-Living-Standard which is specified by the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG).
The language specification and standards documents for HTML5 are available online from the W3C.
FAQ
References:
- W3C HTML/Specifications
- W3Schools Reference
- HTML-Living-Standard
- W3C HTML Validator
- HTML Reference at the Mozilla Developer Network (MDN)
- WebPlatform
- Web development features - IE Dev Center
- SitePoint HTML Reference
- Way2Tutorial HTML Reference
- Web Education Community Group Wiki
- W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
- HTML5 Reference
