HTML: Hypertext Markup Language

HTML
Current VersionHTML5
Regulated ByWeb Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG)
Language TypeMarkup Language

1 Introduction

Description

The Hypertext Markup Language, abbreviated as HTML, is the language used to create web pages. HTML is a subset of XML. HTML defines elements and entities which people may use to create web pages.

This page will provide a basic overview of how HTML works, with some limited examples and links to further reading.

Sample HTML Document

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>Example Page</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <h1>Example HTML Page</h1>
        <p>This is an example of an html page.</p>
    </body>
</html>

2 Elements

Generally speaking HTML elements consist of an opening tag, a closing tag, element attributes, and content. The content of an HTML element may be text, or other elements. When one element is contained within another the contained element is called a "child" element and the container element is called a "parent" element. Not all elements may be parents to other elements.

Elements may have attributes, attributes have a name and a value. Attributes can added to an element by typing the name of the attribute in the element opening tag followed by the equals sign followed by putting the attribute value inside double quotation marks (").

Each element will accept different attributes. Attributes may control how the element behaves or is displayed by web browsers. To see what attributes an element accepts click here and select the HTML element you would like to learn more about.

The most recent version of HTML is HTML 5. HTML 5 defines 113 different elements. You may click the link below to view a complete list of all HTML elements.

Complete List of HTML Elements

3 Entities

HTML also defines things called entities. Entities are used to encode special characters into HTML pages. A few examples of HTML entities are the Euro symbol (€), the Heart symbol (♥), and the Trademark symbol (™).

To see a complete list of all HTML entities click on the link below.

Complete List of HTML Entities

4 Other Information

HTML Standards Body

The HTML standard is de-facto set by the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group, frequently abbreviated as WHATWG.

WHATWG is a somewhat informal group dedicated to creating a living standard which others can rely upon to create software that works with HTML. A link to the main WHATWG website is provided at the bottom of this webpage.

5 Ancillary Information

External Links

Name Link
WHATWG Website https://whatwg.org

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