Chapter 2
Introduction to
HTML
What is HTML?
HTML, otherwise known as HyperText Markup
Language, is the language used to create Web pages
Using HTML, you can create a Web page with text,
graphics, sound, and video
Tags
The essence of HTML programming is tags
A tag is a keyword enclosed by angle brackets (
Example: <I> )
There are opening and closing tags for many but not
all tags; The affected text is between the two tags
HTML (Hypertext MarkUP Language)
HTML is the lingua franca for publishing hypertext on
the World Wide Web
Define tags <html><body> <head>….etc
Allow to embed other scripting languages to manipulate
design layout, text and graphics
Platform independent
Current version is 4.x and in February W3C released the
first draft of a test suite 4.01
For more info: http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/
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HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
Example HTML code:
<HTML>
<head>
<title>Hello World</title>
</head>
<body bgcolor = “#000000”>
<font color = “#ffffff ”>
<H1>Hello World</H1>
</font>
</body>
</HTML>
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HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
6
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
Common features
Tables
Frame
Form
Image map
Character Set
Meta tags
Images, Hyperlink, etc…
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HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
File Extensions:
HTML, HTM
Recent recommendation of W3C is XHTML 1.0 combines
the strength of HTML 4 with the power of XML.
XHTML 1.0 is the first major change to HTML since
HTML 4.0 was released in 1997
More info: http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/
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CSS (Cascading Style Sheet)
Simple mechanism for adding style to web page
Code be embedded into the HTML file
HTML tag:
<style type=“text/css”>CODE</style>
Also be in a separate file FILENAME.css
HTML tag:
<link rel=“stylesheet” href=“scs.css” type=“text/css”>
Style types mainly include:
• Font
• Color
• Spacing
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CSS (Cascading Style Sheet)
Controls format:
Font, color, spacing
Alignment
User override of styles
Aural CSS (non sighted user and voice-browser)
Layers
Layout
User Interface
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CSS (Cascading Style Sheet)
Client’s browser dependable
Example code:
p,h1,h2 {
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:100px;padding:20px 40px 0px 40px;
}
More info:
http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/
http://www.w3schools.com/css/css_intro.asp
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CSS (Cascading Style Sheet)
<HTML>
<head>
<title>Hello World</title>
<style type=“text/css”>
p,h1,h2 {
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:100px;padding:40px 40px 0px 40px;
}
</style>
</head>
<body bgcolor = “#000000”>
<font color = “#ffffff ”>
<h1>Hello World<h1>
</font>
</body>
</HTML>
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CSS (Cascading Style Sheet)
13
HTML without CSS
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HTML Tags
HTML tags are used to mark-up HTML elements
Surrounded by angle brackets < and >
HTML tags normally come in pairs, like <tagname> (start
tag) and </tagname> (end tag)
The text between the start and end tags is the element
content
Not case-sensitive
Follow the latest web standards:
Use lowercase tags
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Tag Attributes
Tags can have attributes that provide additional
information to an HTML element
Attributes always come in name/value pairs like:
name=“value”
Attributes are always specified in the start tag
Attribute values should always be enclosed in quotes. Double
quotes are most common.
Also case-insensitive: however, lowercase is recommended
<tagname a1=“v1” a2=“v2”></tagname>
For example, <table border=“0”> is a start tag that defines a
table that has no borders
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HTML Document Structure
Entire document enclosed within <html> and </html> tags
Two subparts:
Head
Enclosed within <head> and </head>
Within the head, more tags can be used to specify title of the
page, meta-information, etc.
Body
Enclosed within <body> and </body>
Within the body, content is to be displayed
Other tags can be embedded in the body
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We’ll Study…
HTML Basics (http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_intro.asp):
HTML Elements
HTML Headings
HTML Paragraphs
HTML Formatting
HTML Styles
HTML Images
HTML Tables
HTML Lists
HTML Forms
HTML Colors
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More Basic Examples
Using basic tags: http://www.csupomona.edu/~ftang/www/courses/CS299-
S09/examples/ex1.html
Text formatting: http://www.csupomona.edu/~ftang/www/courses/CS299-
S09/examples/ex2.html
HTML links: http://www.csupomona.edu/~ftang/www/courses/CS299-
S09/examples/ex3.html
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HTML Layout
One common way is to use HTML tables to format the layout of an
HTML page
The trick is to use a table without borders, and maybe a little extra cell-
padding
Other tips:
Keep screen resolution in mind
Use color to define spaces
Align your images
Balance the graphics and text on a page
Think about text width – scan length 7 – 11 words
Centering text is inadvisable
Here is the link: http://webdesign.about.com/od/layout/a/aa062104.htm
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Tags
The essence of HTML programming is tags
A tag is a keyword enclosed by angle brackets (
Example: <I> )
There are opening and closing tags for many but not
all tags; The affected text is between the two tags
More Tags...
The opening and closing tags use the same command
except the closing tag contains and additional
forward slash /
For example, the expression <B> Warning </B>
would cause the word ‘Warning’ to appear in bold
face on a Web page
Nested Tags
Whenever you have HTML tags within other HTML
tags, you must close the nearest tag first
Example:
<H1> <I> The Nation </I> </H1>
Structure of a Web Page
All Web pages share a <HTML>
common structure <HEAD>
<TITLE> Example </TITLE>
All Web pages should </HEAD>
contain a pair of <HTML>, <BODY>
<HEAD>, <TITLE>, and This is where you would include
<BODY> tags the text and images on your Web
page.
</BODY>
</HTML>
The <TITLE> Tag
Choose the title of your Web page carefully; The title
of a Web page determines its ranking in certain
search engines
The title will also appear on Favorite lists, History lists,
and Bookmark lists to identify your page
Text Formatting
Manipulating text in HTML can be tricky; Oftentimes,
what you see is NOT what you get
For instance, special HTML tags are needed to create
paragraphs, move to the next line, and create
headings
Text Formatting Tags
<B> Bold Face </B>
<I> Italics </I>
<U> Underline </U>
<P> New Paragraph </P>
<BR> Next Line
Changing the Font
The expression <FONT FACE =
“fontname”> … </FONT> can be used to
change the font of the enclosed text
To change the size of text use the expression <FONT
SIZE=n> …. </FONT> where n is a number between 1
and 7
Changing the Font
To change the color, use <FONT COLOR=“red”>….
</FONT>; The color can also be defined using
hexadecimal representation ( Example: #ffffff )
These attributes can be combined to change
the font, size, and color of the text all at
once; For example, <FONT SIZE=4
FACE=“Courier” COLOR=“red”> …. </FONT>
Headings
Web pages are typically organized into sections with
headings; To create a heading use the expression
<Hn>….</Hn> where n is a number between 1 and 7
In this case, the 1 corresponds to the largest size
heading while the 7 corresponds to the smallest size
Aligning Text
The ALIGN attribute can be inserted in the <P> and
<Hn> tags to right justify, center, or left justify the
text
For example, <H1 ALIGN=CENTER> The New York
Times </H1> would create a centered heading of the
largest size
Comment Statements
Comment statements are notes in the HTML code
that explain the important features of the code
The comments do not appear on the Web page itself
but are a useful reference to the author of the page
and other programmers
To create a comment statement use the <!-- …. -->
tags
The Infamous Blink Tag
It is possible to make text blink using the <BLINK> …
</BLINK> tag
However, it is best to use this feature at most
sparingly or not at all; What seems like a good idea to
a Web designer can become very annoying to a Web
user
The <BLINK> tag is not supported by Internet
Explorer
Page Formatting
To define the background color, use the BGCOLOR
attribute in the <BODY> tag
To define the text color, use the TEXT attribute in the
<BODY> tag
To define the size of the text, type <BASEFONT
SIZE=n>
Example
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE> Example </TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY BGCOLOR=“black” TEXT=“white”>
<BASEFONT SIZE=7>
This is where you would include the text and images on your
Web page.
</BODY>
</HTML>
Inserting Images
Type <IMG SRC = “image.ext”>, where image.ext
indicates the location of the image file
The WIDTH=n and HEIGHT=n attributes can be used
to adjust the size of an image
The attribute BORDER=n can be used to add a border
n pixels thick around the image
Alternate Text
Some browsers don’t support images. In this case,
the ALT attribute can be used to create text that
appears instead of the image.
Example:
<IMG SRC=“satellite.jpg” ALT = “Picture of satellite”>
Links
A link lets you move from one page to another, play
movies and sound, send email, download files, and
more….
A link has three parts: a destination, a label, and a
target
To create a link type
<A HREF=“page.html”> label </A>
Anatomy of a Link
<A HREF=“page.html”> label </A>
In the above link, “page.html” is the destination. The
destination specifies the address of the Web page or
file the user will access when he/she clicks on the link.
The label is the text that will appear underlined or
highlighted on the page
Example: Links
To create a link to CNN, I would type:
<A HREF=“http://www.cnn.com”>CNN</A>
To create a link to MIT, I would type:
<A HREF=“http://www.mit.edu”>MIT</A>
Changing the Color of Links
The LINK, VLINK, and ALINK attributes can be
inserted in the <BODY> tag to define the color of a
link
LINK defines the color of links that have not been visited
VLINK defines the color of links that have already been
visited
ALINK defines the color of a link when a user clicks on it
Using Links to Send Email
To create a link to an email address, type <A
HREF=“mailto:email_address”> Label</A>
For example, to create a link to send email to myself, I
would type: <A HREF=“mailto:
ktdunn@mit.edu”>email Katie Dunn</A>
Anchors
Anchors enable a user to jump to a specific place on a
Web site
Two steps are necessary to create an anchor. First you
must create the anchor itself. Then you must create a
link to the anchor from another point in the
document.
Anchors
To create the anchor itself, type <A NAME=“anchor
name”>label</A> at the point in the Web page where
you want the user to jump to
To create the link, type <A HREF=“#anchor
name”>label</A> at the point in the text where you
want the link to appear
Example: Anchor
<A HREF="#chap2">Chapter Two</A><BR>
Link
<A NAME="chap2">Chapter 2 </A> Ancho
r
Ordered Lists
Ordered lists are a list of Here’s how it would look
numbered items. on the Web:
To create an ordered list,
type:
<OL>
<LI> This is step one.
<LI> This is step two.
<LI> This is step three.
</OL>
More Ordered Lists….
The TYPE=x attribute allows you to change the the
kind of symbol that appears in the list.
A is for capital letters
a is for lowercase letters
I is for capital roman numerals
i is for lowercase roman numerals
Unordered Lists
An unordered list is a list Here’s how it would look
of bulleted items on the Web:
To create an unordered
list, type:
<UL>
<LI> First item in list
<LI> Second item in list
<LI> Third item in list
</UL>
More Unordered Lists...
The TYPE=shape attribute allows you to change the
type of bullet that appears
circle corresponds to an empty round bullet
square corresponds to a square bullet
disc corresponds to a solid round bullet; this is the
default value
Forms
What are forms?
• An HTML form is an area of the document that allows users
to enter information into fields.
• A form may be used to collect personal information,
opinions in polls, user preferences and other kinds of
information.
Forms
There are two basic components of a Web form: the
shell, the part that the user fills out, and the script
which processes the information
HTML tags are used to create the form shell. Using
HTML you can create text boxes, radio buttons,
checkboxes, drop-down menus, and more...
Example: Form
Text Box
Drop-down Menu
Radio Buttons
Checkboxes
Text Area
Reset Button
Submit Button
Creating Text Boxes
To create a text box, type <INPUT TYPE=“text”
NAME=“name” VALUE=“value” SIZE=n
MAXLENGTH=n>
The NAME, VALUE, SIZE, and MAXLENGTH attributes
are optional
Text Box Attributes
The NAME attribute is used to identify the text box to
the processing script
The VALUE attribute is used to specify the text that will
initially appear in the text box
The SIZE attribute is used to define the size of the box in
characters
The MAXLENGTH attribute is used to define the
maximum number of characters that can be typed in the
box
Example: Text Box
First Name: <INPUT Here’s how it would look
TYPE="text" on the Web:
NAME="FirstName"
VALUE="First Name" SIZE=20>
<BR><BR>
Last Name: <INPUT
TYPE="text"
NAME="LastName"
VALUE="Last Name" SIZE=20>
<BR><BR>
Creating Larger Text Areas
To create larger text areas, type <TEXTAREA
NAME=“name” ROWS=n1 COLS=n2 WRAP> Default
Text </TEXTAREA>, where n1 is the height of the text
box in rows and n2 is the width of the text box in
characters
The WRAP attribute causes the cursor to move
automatically to the next line as the user types
Example: Text Area
<B>Comments?</B>
<BR>
<TEXTAREA NAME="Comments" ROWS=10
COLS=50 WRAP>
</TEXTAREA>
Creating Radio Buttons
To create a radio button, type <INPUT TYPE=“radio”
NAME=“name” VALUE=“data”>Label, where “data”
is the text that will be sent to the server if the button
is checked and “Label” is the text that identifies the
button to the user
Example: Radio Buttons
<B> Size: </B>
<INPUT TYPE="radio" NAME="Size"
VALUE="Large">Large
<INPUT TYPE="radio" NAME="Size"
VALUE="Medium">Medium
<INPUT TYPE="radio" NAME="Size"
Creating Checkboxes
To create a checkbox, type <INPUT TYPE=“checkbox”
NAME=“name” VALUE=“value”>Label
If you give a group of radio buttons or checkboxes
the same name, the user will only be able to select
one button or box at a time
Example: Checkboxes
<B> Color: </B>
<INPUT TYPE="checkbox" NAME="Color"
VALUE="Red">Red
<INPUT TYPE="checkbox" NAME="Color"
VALUE="Navy">Navy
<INPUT TYPE="checkbox" NAME="Color"
VALUE="Black">Black
Creating Drop-down Menus
To create a drop-down menu, type <SELECT
NAME=“name” SIZE=n MULTIPLE>
Then type <OPTION VALUE= “value”>Label
In this case the SIZE attribute specifies the height of
the menu in lines and MULTIPLE allows users to select
more than one menu option
Example: Drop-down Menu
<B>WHICH IS FAVOURITE FRUIT:</B>
<SELECT>
<OPTION VALUE="MANGOES">MANGOES
<OPTION VALUE="PAPAYA">PAPAYA
<OPTION VALUE="GUAVA">GUAVA
<OPTION VALUE="BANANA"> BANANA
<OPTION VALUE="PINEAPPLE">PINEAPPLE
</SELECT>
Creating a Submit Button
To create a submit button, type <INPUT
TYPE=“submit”>
If you would like the button to say something other
than submit, use the VALUE attribute
For example, <INPUT TYPE=“submit” VALUE=“Buy
Now!”> would create a button that says “Buy Now!”
Creating a Reset Button
To create a reset button, type <INPUT TYPE=“reset”>
The VALUE attribute can be used in the same way to
change the text that appears on the button
Tables
Tables can be used to display rows and columns of
data, create multi-column text, captions for images,
and sidebars
The <TABLE> tag is used to create a table; the <TR>
tag defines the beginning of a row while the <TD> tag
defines the beginning of a cell
Adding a Border
The BORDER=n attribute allows you to add a border n
pixels thick around the table
To make a solid border color, use the
BORDERCOLOR=“color” attribute
To make a shaded colored border, use
BODERCOLORDARK=“color” and
BORDERCOLORLIGHT=“color”
Creating Simple Table
<TABLE BORDER=10> Here’s how it would look
<TR> on the Web:
<TD>One</TD>
<TD>Two</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD>Three</TD>
<TD>Four</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
Adjusting the Width
When a Web browser displays a table, it often adds
extra space. To eliminate this space use the WIDTH =n
attribute in the <TABLE> and <TD> tags
Keep in mind - a cell cannot be smaller than its
contents, and if you make a table wider than the
browser window, users will not be able to see parts of
it.
Centering a Table
There are two ways to center a table
Type <TABLE ALIGN=CENTER>
Enclose the <TABLE> tags in opening and closing
<CENTER> tags
Wrapping Text around a Table
It is possible to wrap text around a table. This
technique is often used to keep images and
captions together within an article.
To wrap text around a table, type <TABLE
ALIGN = LEFT> to align the table to the left
while the text flows to the right.
Create the table using the <TR>, <TD>, and
</TABLE> tags as you normally would
Adding Space around a Table
To add space around a table, use the HSPACE=n and
VSPACE=n attributes in the <TABLE> tag
Example:
<TABLE HSPACE=20 VSPACE=20>
Spanning Cells Across Columns
It is often necessary to span one cell across many
columns. For example, you would use this technique
to span a headline across the columns of a newspaper
article.
To span a cell across many columns, type <TD
COLSPAN=n>, where n is the number of columns to
be spanned
Spanning Cells Across Rows
To span a cell across many rows, type <TD
ROWSPAN=n>, where n is the number of rows
Aligning Cell Content
By default, a cell’s content are aligned horizontally to
the left and and vertically in the middle.
Use VALIGN=direction to change the vertical
alignment, where “direction” is top, middle, bottom,
or baseline
Use ALIGN=direction to change the horizontal
alignment where “direction” is left, center, or right
Controlling Cell Spacing
Cell spacing is the space between cells while cell
padding is the space around the contents of a cell
To control both types of spacing, use the
CELLSPACING =n and CELLPADDING=n attributes in
the <TABLE> tag
Nesting Tables
Create the inner table
Create the outer table and determine which
cell of the outer table will hold the inner table
Test both tables separately to make sure they
work
Copy the inner table into the cell of the outer
table
Don’t nest too many tables. If you find
yourself doing that, find an easier way to lay
Changing a Cell’s Color
To change a cell’s color, add the BGCOLOR=“color”
attribute to the <TD> tag
Example:
<TD BGCOLOR=“blue”>
Dividing Your Table into Column
Groups
You can divide your table into two kinds of column
groups: structural and non-structural.
Structural column groups control where dividing lines
are drawn; Non-structural groups do not
Both let you format an entire column of cells at once
Column Groups
To create structural column groups, type
<COLGROUP SPAN=n> after the <TABLE> tag,
where n is the number of columns in the
group
To create non-structural column groups, type
<COL SPAN=n>, where n is the number of
columns in the group
Dividing Table into Horizontal
Sections
You can also create a horizontal section consisting of
one or more rows. This allows you to format the rows
all at once
To create a horizontal section, type <THEAD>,
<TBODY>, or <TFOOT> before the first <TR> tag of
the section
Netscape does not support these tags
Controlling Line Breaks
Unless you specify otherwise a browser will divide the
lines in a cell as it sees fit.
The NOWRAP attribute placed within the <TD> tag
forces the browser to keep all the text in a cell on one
line
Example:
<TD NOWRAP>Washington, D.C.
Parting Words….
If you can imagine a way to lay out your page,
chances are it is possible using HTML
When in doubt, use an HTML reference
HTML Frames
HTML frames are a means of having several browser
windows open within a single larger window
Each HTML document is called a frame
Disadvantages:
Must keep track of more HTML documents
Difficult to print the entire page
Example of using frame
http://www.csupomona.edu/~ftang/www/courses/CS299-S09/examples/frame.html
http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_frames.asp
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