HTML Tags
Elements in
the HTML
specification are indicated by tags. An HTML tag is made up of the
element name followed by an optional list of attributes, all of which
appears between
angle brackets (< >). Nothing within the brackets is displayed in the
browser. The tag name is generally an abbreviation of the
element’s name or the tag’s function (this makes them
fairly simple to learn). Attributes are properties that extend or
refine the tag’s function.
In the current specification, the name and attributes within a tag
are not case sensitive.
<BODY
BGCOLOR=white>
works the same as <body
bgcolor=white>. However, values for particular
attributes may be case sensitive, particularly URLs and filenames.
Tip
Because tags are not case-sensitive in the HTML 4.01 specification, the tags in sample code throughout this book are written in all uppercase letters for improved readability. In future iterations of HTML (namely XHTML, discussed in Chapter 31), tags and attributes will be required to be all lowercase. While it is recommended that developers begin the good habit of coding in all lowercase immediately, this book follows the conventions for tag display established within the HTML 4.01 specification itself.
Containers
Most
HTML
elements or components are containers, meaning they have a
start tag and an end
tag. The text enclosed within the tags follows the
tag’s instructions. In the following example, the
<I> container tags make the enclosed text
italic:
The weather is <I>gorgeous</I> ...
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