Web Design in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

Common Attributes and Events

A number of attributes in the HTML 4.01 and XHTML Recommendations are shared by nearly all elements. To save space, they have been abbreviated in this appendix as they are in the Recommendations. This section explains each attribute’s shorthand and serves as a reference for the remainder of the appendix.

When Core is listed under Attributes, it refers to the set of core attributes that may be applied to the majority of elements (as noted in each element listing).

id

Assigns a unique identifying name to the element

class

Assigns one or more classification names to the element

style

Associated style information

title

Advisory title/amplification

When Internationalization appears in the attribute list, it means the element accepts the set of attributes used to specify language and reading direction.

lang

Specifies the language for the element by its language code.

xml:lang

XHTML only. This is the attribute for specifying language for elements in XHTML documents.

dir

Specifies the direction of the element (left to right, or right to left).

When Events is listed for the element, it indicates that the core events used by scripting languages are applicable to the element. Additional events that apply to the element that are not part of the core events are listed separately for that element.

onclick

Occurs when the pointing device button is clicked over an element.

ondblclick

Occurs when the pointing device button is double-clicked over an element.

onmousedown ...