(HyperText Markup Language) The document format used on the Web. Web pages are built with HTML tags (codes) embedded in the text. HTML defines the page layout, fonts and graphic elements as well as the hypertext links to other documents on the Web. Each link contains the URL, or address, of a Web page residing on the same server or any server worldwide, hence "World Wide" Web.
HTML 2.0 was defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) with a basic set of features, including interactive forms capability. Subsequent versions added more features such as blinking text, custom backgrounds and tables of contents. However, each new version requires agreement on the tags used, and browsers must be modified to implement those tags. See HTML tag.
HTML Is Not a Programming Language
HTML is a markup language (the ML in HTML) that uses a fixed set of markup tags. A markup language can also be thought of as a "presentation language," but it is not a programming language. You cannot "if this-do that" like you can in Java, JavaScript or C++. However, in order to make pages interactive, programming code can be embedded in an HTML page. For example, JavaScript code is widely used alongside the HTML code to make the Web page function like an application. See JavaScript and VBScript.
HTML was originally conceived as a simple markup language to render research documents on the Web. No one envisioned Web pages turning into multimedia applications, but HTML pages have been reworked and jury-rigged to make them function as such. As a result, the source code behind some of today's Web pages is often a complex concoction of tags and scripting.
HTML 5
A major attempt to standardize HTML as a Web application platform is HTML Version 5. It consolidates features and adds numerous programming functions (see HTML 5). See HTML tag, XML, XHTML and SGML.
World Wide Web Linking
Accessing a Web document requires typing in the address, or URL (Uniform Resource Locator), of the home page in your Web browser. The home page is an HTML document, which contains hypertext links to other HTML documents that can be stored on the same server or on a server anywhere in the world.
Web Server Fundamentals
Web browsers communicate with Web servers via the TCP/IP protocol. The browser sends HTTP requests to the server, which responds with HTML pages and possibly additional programs in the form of ActiveX controls or Java applets.
HTML 2.0 was defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) with a basic set of features, including interactive forms capability. Subsequent versions added more features such as blinking text, custom backgrounds and tables of contents. However, each new version requires agreement on the tags used, and browsers must be modified to implement those tags. See HTML tag.
HTML Is Not a Programming Language
HTML is a markup language (the ML in HTML) that uses a fixed set of markup tags. A markup language can also be thought of as a "presentation language," but it is not a programming language. You cannot "if this-do that" like you can in Java, JavaScript or C++. However, in order to make pages interactive, programming code can be embedded in an HTML page. For example, JavaScript code is widely used alongside the HTML code to make the Web page function like an application. See JavaScript and VBScript.
HTML was originally conceived as a simple markup language to render research documents on the Web. No one envisioned Web pages turning into multimedia applications, but HTML pages have been reworked and jury-rigged to make them function as such. As a result, the source code behind some of today's Web pages is often a complex concoction of tags and scripting.
HTML 5
A major attempt to standardize HTML as a Web application platform is HTML Version 5. It consolidates features and adds numerous programming functions (see HTML 5). See HTML tag, XML, XHTML and SGML.
World Wide Web Linking
Accessing a Web document requires typing in the address, or URL (Uniform Resource Locator), of the home page in your Web browser. The home page is an HTML document, which contains hypertext links to other HTML documents that can be stored on the same server or on a server anywhere in the world.
Web Server Fundamentals
Web browsers communicate with Web servers via the TCP/IP protocol. The browser sends HTTP requests to the server, which responds with HTML pages and possibly additional programs in the form of ActiveX controls or Java applets.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- SEEdit Maxi II 2009.12.03 (Mac)
- With SEEdit's fast and powerful Editor Toolbox insertion of code and classes is always just one click away. SEEdit's handy advanced Tag Editor also handles CSS classes and Javascript functions. Other powerful features to assist professionals and hobbyists worldwide include Tidy Checker for standards-compliant code, the Quick CSS Tool for...
- Software downloads 2009-11-22
- East Anglia, the next chapter
- Harry's world must be imploding;-)NY times reports:"The evidence pointing to a growing human contribution to global warming is so widely accepted that the hacked material is unlikely to erode the overall argument. [b]However, the documents will undoubtedly raise questions about the quality of research on some specific questions and the...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-21
- e-Campaign 7.7.7 (Windows)
- e-Campaign is an HTML bulk e-mail and mailing list application for companies, e-zine publishers, and professionals, as well as for individuals, for communicating with customers, subscribers, and other e-mail contacts effectively. You can design rich-HTML e-mails and newsletters easily and deliver personalized HTML e-mail messages to your customer base and...
- Software downloads 2009-11-21
- A1 Sitemap Generator 2.0.4 (Windows)
- Help search engines crawl and index your Web site with HTML, RSS, and XML sitemaps as defined by Google XML sitemaps protocol including video, mobile and news XML sitemaps. Near-endless Web site scanning options. Configure amount of simultaneous connections to use. Supports crawler filters, nofollow, robots.txt, custom connection and read...
- Software downloads 2009-11-21
- Ballmer: Windows 7 sales on a roll
- Oh boy... this should be a fun Talkback... ntntyeap...for sure we'll be hearing what everyone has already said "ad nauseum".BallSack is a MoronPlain and Simple.I'm sure Win7 sales are decent. After all, it's hard to get an OS-less computer.....It is easy enough to get linuxpre-installed.Or buy a MacHowever,...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-20
- myBlogEdit 2.4 (Mac)
- myBlogEdit is 'Featured Download' at apple.com.myBlogEdit is an easy-to-use weblog editor focusing on the most important functions for blogger with easy to use features and a clean user interface. Why should you hinder yourself by using the slow and hard-to-use webinterface WordPress comes with, if you could do it with...
- Software downloads 2009-11-20
- PHP Studio 2009 2.4.3 (Windows)
- PHP Studio 2008 is an Integrated Development Environment for PHP, providing comprehensive and easy-to-use solution for editing, testing, and deploying PHP based Web applications. Main features of PHP Studio 2008 include: built-in HTTP server and internal web browser for testing PHP scripts, convenient code editor supporting configurable syntax highlighting for...
- Software downloads 2009-11-20
- Auto Mail Sender 4.0 (Windows)
- Auto Mail Sender AMS is used to send e-mails automatically at anytime and any frequency as you expect, it satisfies all your mailing requirements. You can set automatic sending time yearly, monthly (contains last day and serial number contains last of weekday), weekly, daily and specific date and time. AMS...
- Software downloads 2009-11-20
- Google makes Chrome OS open source today
- I like itThe ChromeOS demo looked pretty cool!I'm almost 100% webapp-based already, so I could see myself using a simple, fast & no maintenance OS like that the majority of the time.I like it too, but, for me, I need to compile and run programs locally. I would imagine that...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- Google's Chrome OS: Will you give up desktop apps?
- I won't ntntI can'tI'm not online 24/7. I need local apps, as does everyone else. Say what you want. But network outages happen... Weather by forces of nature or human error, a network will eventually go down. It's only a matter of time. And knowing Google's past GMail outages, I...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- TreeDBNotes Pro 3.47 build 06 (Windows)
- TreeDBNotes Pro is a powerful and easy-to-use personal database program, PIM, word processor, e-book maker, alarm & reminders, contacts and passwords manager with tree structure, advanced encryption and password protection. Features: search, replace, case options, Insert file/ link/ image/ time/ date/ symbols/ table / HTML table. Import TXT, WRI, RTF,...
- Software downloads 2009-11-19
- Microsoft shares a few tidbits on IE9 and (lots) more on Silverlight 4
- Safari? What Safari ? :-)http://www.tgdaily.com/software-features/39495-safari-4-beta-first-browser-to-hit-100-score-in-acid3-testI know, Steve doesn't like Apple but you're supposed to be a journalist? ;-)Google chrome?IE like Microsoft is stumbling around in a new ecosystem in which spending thousands of dollars is not an option.Plus, it locks you into a insecure OS platform with...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-18
- Firefox faces browser clone war in China
- Come on ZDNet!!!!Is this really newsworthy????Newsworthy? That's not the point...ZDNet's intent was not to write about anything worthwhile. It's intent was to draw you in and to have you read further in order to get you to visit at least one more page in their web-site.If they had...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-18
- Altova StyleVision Standard Edition 2010 (Windows)
- Altova StyleVision 2010 Standard Edition is a drag-and-drop, visual XML- to-HTML stylesheet designer for graphically designing templates that render eye-catching HTML output from XML content. StyleVision is fully standards-compliant and supports XSLT 1.0, XSLT 2.0, CSS, and JavaScript for building advanced Web pages. It even has a built-in HTML importer...
- Software downloads 2009-11-18
- Just Color Picker 2.2 (Windows)
- A free color picker and color editing tool. Features 5 formats of color values (HTML, RGB, HEX, HSB/HSV, and HSL); 3x, 9x and 15x magnifier to see precisely which color you want to pick; picked colors history to save and reuse picked colors; RGB and RYB color wheels to display...
- Software downloads 2009-11-18
- Listing Factory 2009 3.6.0.7 (Windows)
- Listing Factory 2009 is more than just an eBay HTML editor. It provides a full set of features to create upload and manage eBay Auction Listing Descriptions with minimal user effort. Use Pre-designed eBay Auction Templates. Create Auction Templates From Scratch. Insert Unlimited Images Per Auction for free. No Image...
- Software downloads 2009-11-18
- Contact Form Generator 1.7 (Windows)
- Create HTML forms for your website. Generate them with an online wizard. Contact forms are very useful to receive message from your visitors. Build polls, questionnaires, and other types of web forms. No programming skills are required, just copy and paste the HTML form code on a page. You can...
- Software downloads 2009-11-18
- Apple iMac (21.5-inch, 3.06Hz Intel Core 2 Duo, Nvidia GeForce 9400M, Fall 2009)
- We awarded Apple an Editors' Choice for its new $1,699 iMac, largely because its 27-inch screen dwarfs its competition in that price range. So what to make of Apple's new lower-end iMac? At $1,199, its 21.5-inch screen is hardly the size leader for its price, and without a touch screen...
- Product reviews 2009-11-17
- Cap and trade controversial in Australia
- This is what happened:An Australian researcher who was critical of mainstream theories got censored.The new Inquisition: dare to raise your voice against the enviro-whackos and they get all angry.CEC FAILs againCEC claims: [i]"An Australian researcher who was critical of mainstream theories got censored."[/i]He wasn't censored for disagreeing with the global...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-17
- Microsoft to share some details on IE 9 at PDC show this week
- Tabs that dont hang and,1. HTML 5 standards compliance ahead of Chrome and FF2. Better plugins3. CSS 3 compliance4. FASTER!Trying to develop for IE8 is still a pain!Addon supportFor things like AdBlock Plus.Also, an x64 version of silverlight.Grow upso do not read this blog - OK? Prefer Firefox but...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-17
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- The more you simplify, the more you save
-
When you transition from your existing Red Hat environment to SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell, you can recognize dramatic cost savings, perhaps as much 50%
- Learn more >>
- The best support in the Linux business
-
If Linux is going to power your mission-critical applications, you'd better have the best support known to business. Novell was rated the top provider of Linux technical support.
- Learn more >>
- Learn more about tools to grow your business
-
The Business Essentials Guide provides you useful tools and templates to help grow your business and save you time with automated shipping solutions.
- Save time with the UPS Business Essentials Guide
- Keep Up With The Latest In Document Management with The DocuMentor.
-
Doc delivers the scoop on today's enterprise content management, printer maintenance, and all other issues related to document management. It's the DocuMentor Blog.
- Learn more >>
- New Online Dashboard for IT Leaders
-
Read about top issues IT decision-makers face every day, plus get cost-effective solutions to real-life IT problems.
- Learn more >>
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online - Free Six-Month Trial for Eligible Organizations
-
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online provides fast online access, simple contact management and better sales performance for a low monthly cost - the best value on the market today.
- Learn more about the free, six-month trial offer>>
SmartPlanet
- Thought-provoking progressive ideas on diverse topics that intersect with technology, business, and life, and matter to the world at large. Visit SmartPlanet
- More from IBM
-
- How to Drive Better Business Outcomes with Exceptional Web Experiences Download the eBook
- Driving Business Agility through SOA Connectivity & Integration Read the White Paper from IBM
- Linking Decisions and Information for Organizational Performance Read the Tom Davenport study
