Smart Solution

HTML is a markup language, a structured language that lets you identify common
sections of a document such as headings, paragraphs, and lists. An HTML file includes
text and HTML markup (or element) tags that identify these sections. The HTML
markup tags indicate how the document sections appear in a browser. For example, the
<h1> element tags in the following code indicate that the text is a first-level heading:

<h1>WelcomeƒtoƒMyƒWebƒPage</h1>

The browser interprets the HTML markup elements and displays the results, hiding the
actual markup tags from the user. In the previous code, the user sees only the text
“Welcome to My Web Page” formatted as a level-one heading.

HTML adopts many features of SGML, including the cross-platform compatibility that
allows different computers to download and read the same file from the Web. Because
HTML is cross-platform compatible, it does not matter whether you are working on a
Windows PC, Macintosh, or UNIX computer.You can create HTML files and view
them on any computer platform.

HTML is not a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) layout tool. It was intended
only to express logical document structure, not formatting characteristics. Although
many current HTML editors let you work with a graphical interface, the underlying
code they create is basic HTML. However, because HTML was not designed as a layout
language, many editing programs create substandard code to accomplish a certain effect.

You cannot rely on the HTML editor’s WYSIWYG view to test your Web pages.
Because users can view the same HTML file with different browsers and on different
machines, the only way to be sure of what your audience sees is to preview your HTML
files in the browsers you anticipate your audience will use.

Despite its limitations, HTML is ideal for the Web because it is an open, nonproprietary
language that is cross-platform compatible. All of the markup tags are included with
every document and usually can be viewed through your browser. Once you are familiar
with the HTML syntax, you will find that one of the best ways to learn new coding
techniques is to find a Web page you like and view the source code. (You have a chance
to view the source code of a Web page in the Hands-on Projects at the end of this chapter.)