HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide, 6th Edition

Precise Spacing and Layout

CSS notwithstanding, the original concept of HTML is for specifying document content without indicating format; to delineate the structure and semantics of a document, not how that document is to be presented to the user. Normally, you should leave word wrapping, character and line spacing, and other presentation details up to the browser. That way, the document's content—its rich information, not its good looks—is what matters. When looks matter more, such as for commercial presentations, look to stylesheets for layout control (see Chapter 8).

The <br> Tag

The <br> tag interrupts the normal line filling and word wrapping of paragraphs within an HTML or XHTML document. It has no ending tag with HTML;^[*] it simply marks the point in the flow where a new line should begin. Most browsers simply stop adding words and images to the current line, move down and over to the left margin, and resume filling and wrapping.

<br>

Function	Inserts a line break into a text flow
Attributes	class, clear, id, style, title
End tag	None in HTML; </br> or <br ... /> in XHTML
Contains	Nothing
Used in	text

This effect is handy when formatting conventional text with fixed line breaks, such as addresses, song lyrics, and poetry. Notice, for example, the lyrical breaks when the following source is rendered by a GUI browser:

<h3> Heartbreak Hotel</h3> <p> Ever since my baby left me<br> I've found a new place to dwell.<br> It's down at the end of lonely street<br> Called <cite>Heartbreak ...