HTML

HTML is a relatively easy to learn text formatting language that is used to create and format web pages. HTML defines the way a webpage looks, including the layout, type size, type colors, and background colors. Graphics and interactive elements are added into the HTML coding itself, which may include Flash, JavaScript, or Perl applications. Web pages created according to widely used HTML specifications can be read on any computer platform. Most of the major web browsers will display web pages authored in HTML similarly. HTML allows anyone with an Internet connection anywhere in the world to view a web page as the organized document it was intended to be, rather than as a confusing jumble of information.

HTML is the international standard for creating web pages on the world wide web. HTML defines the way a webpage looks and organizes its content. HTML coding is written into the text of the webpage. HTML is composed of HTML elements, which can be HTML tags or HTML attributes.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) can also be used with HTML to help create the formatting of a web page, such as defining the size or color of a headline. However, not all platforms and browsers recognize CSS. So, headings, layout, the placement of graphics, and other elements that are formatted with CSS instead of pure HTML may appear jumbled up when viewed on some browsers. This sometimes happens with HTML also, but usually only on more obscure web browsers.

HTML is HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. Strictly speaking, HTML is not a programming language. HTML is a text formatting language, not a coding language. It gives information on how the text and graphics on a webpage are to be presented. Programming languages like JavaScript or Perl allow computers to read the coding and then run a given application (such as an animated graphic or application on a homepage). That's why people "author" HTML documents while a programmer "writes" JavaScript. HTML is often used with programming languages to create web pages. Computer programs are often written into an HTML document, so that the JavaScript application starts up once the web server downloads the webpage.

If you want to take a look at the HTML on a webpage you're looking at, you can do it quite simply. Your web browser (such as Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer) allows you to view the HTML coding if you go to the View menu and click on "Page Source" or "Source."