Thursday, September 25, 2008

homework 1- What is HTML

HTML: A fun programming language


HTML is a computer language used to help create different websites. Once a website is made it can be seen using the internet. The letters HTML stand for Hypertext Markup Language. HTML has different codes and syntax; just like other language have different codes or syntax. Hypertext is the method in which you move around the internet or the web. By clicking on different hyperlinks you can search around the internet visiting different websites. Markup is what HTML tags do inside the website. This is talking about what kind of text, font, or style of writing that this website is using.

HTML consists of a series of codes typed into a text-file by the site author. The text is then saved as an html file, and then viewed by using a browser such as Explorer, or Firefox. The browser that you then choose to use will read the file and translate the text into visible form.

People sometimes wonder what they need to create their own websites, or even wonder if there is any software that needs to be loaded in order to use html. All a person needs to create their own website and use html is a text editor and a web browser. The text editor is used to write down your HTML and CSS files. If a person is using windows, then they can simply use their notepad on the computer. If a person is using a MAC then they can use a Text Editor. Finally, a person needs to have an internet browser in order for them to obviously go online and create their new web page. It is probably best to have all the different types of browsers loaded on to your computer even though you are probably only going to use one or two of these browsers.

HTML has a long history of when it began. HTML is an evolving language that has changed from years to years. The first HTML language was called HTML 1.0. During the time HTML 1.0 was out, people were not involved in creating their own websites. In fact, the language of html was very limited. A person can basically use only simple texts when creating different web pages. The next html that came out was called html 2.0. This html had all the specifications of html 1.0, but there were some added features to the 2.0 version. This version was used up until about 1997. At this point in time people really got into the html game. However, there was a problem. Netscape at this time was the most used browser around the world. People would create their websites using Netscape. The websites created on Netscape though did not always look the same when people used other browsers. To sum it up, if you created a web page on Netscape, it would look completely different if you would use a different browser such as Explorer. A man named Dave Ragget so this happening and he created our next form of html, and it was called html 3.0. This new html included many new features, and more powerful opportunities for webmasters, however the browsers now became extremely slow. Due to the slowness of this new html most people began to abandon this new html, and they began using the older versions again. New tags were still being made, and it was apparent that a standard needed to be met between all of the browsers. People in charge of the internet noted that they needed to take these problems slowly, and that they needed to update browsers slowly, so that all of them can be compatible. The next html did just that. The new html was called Wilbur or also known as html 3.2. This version of html was a toned-down version of the already existing html. This helped the plan of updating html’s slowly for better compatibility. The final html that came out was called html 4.0 or also known as Cougar. This html was a combination of the older htmls with some specific features from the ill-fated html 3.0. At this point in time Microsoft came out with its new browser called Internet Explorer. Explorer was supported by html 4.0, and had excellent support by most new tags and new attributes. Once html 4.0 had been out for a little while, the documentation was

then revised and corrected in a few minor ways, and was soon entitled html 4.01. This is the final version of specification.

Ultimately, HTML has been used for years. HTML is needed to help create different websites. It is very easy to learn how to use htmls. In the past there were different versions of html. However through the years html has been updated, and made better for society’s use of the internet.

Thursday, September 18, 2008