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Guide 3. What can I do on the Internet?

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) (screen 3 of 20)

Underlying the success of the Web is the language that describes how information is presented on your computer screen. This is HyperText Markup Language, or HTML(1) to the initiated.

Websites at University of New South Wales(2), as well as the Bare Bones Guide to HTML(3), carry tutorials that teach HTML mark up.

HTML is a relatively simple language to learn. You don't need any special software to create HTML code, as any text editor - like Simple Text or Teachtext - will do the job. However, HTML editors such as Dreamweaver(4) and Netscape Composer(5) make the job easier.

HTML tags act like a style sheet you might use in a word processing package like Microsoft Word, or a page layout program like PageMaker or Quark Express. Each HTML tag has a beginning and an ending.

For example, if you wanted to make a title bold you would use the tag <STRONG>The Title Text</STRONG> around the text you want to make bold.

Another simple example: <EM>Makes it italic</EM>

The other main benefit of HTML as a standard is that it can be understood by any type of computer, provided the computer has a browser application like Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer installed. What is more, the collection of HTML commands (called tags) that describe a Web screen are saved as a text file that is fast to transmit.

But while HTML language is a standard, it is still flexible enough to enable a website designer to create a website with an individual look and feel.

Web screens can look very different

It's also important to be aware that the same Web screen can look very different depending on:

• The browser application used.
• The version of browser application used.
• The type of computer used.
• The type of monitor used.
• The settings on your Preference file or the Preference files of users.

Users can set their preferences so that backgrounds, colours and type sizes vary from how the designer intended them. Designers can only control some of these things, not all of them and not all of the time.

When you design your Web screens you should keep these issues in mind.

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References

1. Introduction to HTML http://www.cwru.edu/help/introHTML/toc.html
2. Creating Web Pages using HTML http://www.fbe.unsw.edu.au/learning/html/tut/
3. The Bare Bones Guide to HTML http://werbach.com/barebones/
4. Dreamweaver http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/
5. Netscape Composer http://wp.netscape.com/communicator/composer/v4.0/index.html

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