HTML - Hypertext Markup Language

Today, everyone is well aware of the usefulness of the website and the impact it is creating in the lives of people. Even you are able to access this content using a website. Whether it be a social networking, music service provider website, or educational content website, every website is created using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). We could find the significance of HTML by having a close look at the website building process. It is based on HTML code written in an editor, and it provides the necessary structure for the components of the page. The components are header, footer, main content, and inline elements. Hence, HTML is a useful tool that facilitates webpage creation with the help of HTML elements.

What is HTML?

HTML is the abbreviation for Hypertext Markup Language. This standard markup language is used for the creation of web pages. HTML consists of the elements that guide the browser about how to display the content, and a simple HTML document consists of the tags.

HTML is the standard language that is used for designing the content on the website. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and Javascript (JS) are the technologies that help the HTML perform better while designing a website. Hence these technologies can be used along with the HTML.

HTML is responsible for rendering the HTML documents from the local memory locations and web servers to the multimedia pages. HTML includes cues of the actual document. Additionally, it also describes the structure of the web page.

History and Development of HTML

• Elements in HTML act as the building blocks for HTML pages. Interactive forms can also be added to the rendered page, including constructs, images, and other objects. Structured documents can be created with the help of HTML, and it is possible with the help of structural semantics like headings, lists, paragraphs, quotes, links, and other items. Angle bracket is used for the tags that form the HTML elements. Some tags can directly input content to the page, for example tags like <img/> and <input/>. However, many tags like <p> surround the content and provide the information of a document. Such tags may include sub-elements. The task of the browser is not to display the tags but interpret the page's content and display it to the user.
• Programs written in other scripting languages, such as JavaScript, can be embedded in the HTML. The look and layout of the content can also be changed by the inclusion of CSS. The use of CSS is encouraged by the World Wide Consortium (W3C), which currently maintains CSS standards and is formerly responsible for the HTML standards.
• Tim Berners-Lee was a physicist and a contractor at CERN. He proposed a system for using and sharing information; the prototype was known as ENQUIRE. Berners went on to propose an internet-based system which was a hypertext system in 1989. In 1990, Berners-Lee wrote browser and server software along with specifying HTML. Berners Lee and Robert Cailliau collaborated for funding; however, CERN didn't adopt their project formally. Robert Cailliau was a data system engineer at CERN. He also listed the areas in which hypertext can be used, and the encyclopedia was first. It was the list stated in his notes.
• "HTML Tags" was the first description of the HTML document that was available publicly, and it was mentioned by Tim Berners-Lee for the first time in 1991. There were about 18 elements that consisted of initial and simple HTML design.
• Some of the elements still exist in HTML 4, and these are about 11. These were influenced by the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)-based documentation. SGML is in house documentation format at CERN.
• HTML is used to compose text, images, etc. into web pages; it is used to interpret the content as a markup language.

Tags in HTML

There are many tags in HTML which facilitate the process of describing web page to the server. These tags are arranged in a specific manner to get the desired output. Some of the important tags of HTML are discussed below -

1. <!Doctype> - It describes the type of document
2. <html> - describes that the document is an html document
3. <title> - describes title of the document
4. <body> - describes the body of the document
5. <h1> to <h6> - describes the headings in html
6. <p> - describes a paragraph
7. <br> - produces a line break of single line
8. <hr> - describes a thematic content change
9. <!--?--> - Describes a comment

Tags in html are useful entities that allow a developer to manipulate the look and functionalities of a web page. Additionally, some of the tags have closing tags that include a forward slash, indicating a closing tag. Examples of the closing tags are body, title, and html. However, some tags do not have closing tags; examples of such tags are <br> and <img>. Such elements are often known as empty or void elements in HTML.

Other useful tags in html are -

1. <b> - It is used to bold the written text.
2. <i> - It is used to make the written text italic.
3. <u> - It is used to underline the content written in the tag.
4. <li> - It is used to form a list in the content.
5. <ol> - It is used to form an ordered list in the content.
6. <ul> - It is used to form an unordered list in the content.
7. <marquee> - Adds scrolling effect to the text or image in the content.

Elements in HTML

HTML elements are enclosed by a starting tag and a closing tag and contain other content in them. The closing tags are closed using a forward slash. However, some elements do not require closing tags, and these are known as void elements.

Difference between HTML Tags and HTML Elements

Uses of HTML

HTML acts as the markup language which is used for the creation of web pages and web applications. It is excessively utilized in web development when combined with JavaScript and CSS.

Some of the most important applications of HTML are listed below

1. Web Development:
   Creating web pages is one of the most used applications of HTML. All pages contain some tags, and these tags define the pages and hyperlinks are used to connect the pages. Every page is written with the help of HTML code.
2. Web Document Creation:
   Another use of HTML is in document creation. Document creation is done using the basic tags and Document Object Model (DOM). There are three sections of the web document: title, head, and body. The information that identifies the document, such as the title and important keywords, is included in the head. The title is visible in the browser, whereas the body section contains the main content viewed by the consumer. These sections are created using HTML tags, and it is done using specific tags for a purpose. Hence the title, head, and body are kept in a loop.
3. Internet Navigation:
   Internet navigation is possible through hypertext functionality. It is one of the most widely used functions of HTML. It is the text that refers the user to another webpage, facilitating the user to navigate easily. It makes navigation within the web pages and easy, even if these are on different servers.
4. Cutting Edge Feature:
   HTML5 is the game-changer in the website development business. HTML5 has the latest set of standards and APIs that can be perfectly implemented using Google Chrome.
5. Responsive images on web pages:
   Responsive images can be set up using queries. The developer can fully control how the user can render the image, and it can be done using the srcset attribute of the img element by combining it with picture elements. Hence images with size variations can be uploaded.
6. Use in Game Development:
   The advent of HTML5 and CSS3 and a light-fast JavaScript engine provide a rich experience to the user. For game development, most of the API features can be utilized while others can be eliminated.
7. Data Entry Support with HTML:
   Data entry work can be easily carried out using HTML5. Using the HTML5 standards and APIs, the fields such as text, data, etc., can be added. It is useful for data entry, and end-user will have better data entry.
   

Web Development Using HTML

Heading, paragraphs, images, data, etc., are the components of a webpage. HTML has a heavy application in web development, as developers use HTML for frontend development. The task of the HTML element is to specify the type of information on each webpage. For example, a paragraph is indicated by 'p'. HTML codes are written to relate different items on one page.

Working of HTML in a Webpage

The HTML is crucial for any webpage that you wish to design. The HTML code is used for designing the basic structure of the website, and it can be used to manipulate elements with the help of CSS and JavaScript.

For example, HTML can be used for specifying headings on the web page. Afterwards, it can be edited using the appropriate size, color, and size that fits the organization's branding.

HTML is used to indicate the function of structural elements to the search engine and makes the summarizing of content easier.

For example, Mark captions an image as a "figcaption" element and enclose the image and caption in the 'figure' element. In this case, it is easy for the search engine to understand that the two pieces are related to each other, and the caption is the description of the stored image.

What is HTML5?

HTML5 is the latest HTML version that is utilized in structuring content on the website. It is designed such that it can present every content that can be consumed on the World Wide Web.

Difference between HTML and HTML5

Advantages and Disadvantages of HTML

Advantages

• It is a widely used language.
• It is supported by all browsers.
• It can be easily learnt and used.
• Light-weighted, fast to load content.
• There is no need for extra software for its operation as it is built by default in every window.
• Ease of use.
• Loose Syntax.
• Writing HTML is easier compared to other languages.
• New programmers can easily code in HTML and gain expertise.
• The web page designing is further simplified with the use of templates.
• Has many applications and hence is useful for web designing beginners.
• Acts as support for all websites.
• Built and operated on almost all websites.
• The use of HTML for data storage has increased significantly.
• No need to buy any software as HTML is free of cost.
• Present by default and hence saves money for the developer.
• Code writing is short and convenient as there are several tags and attributes which make the task easier.

Disadvantages

• HTML is a static language and, therefore, cannot produce dynamic results alone.
• Many times the structure of HTML becomes tough to understand.
• Errors can cost you money.
• It takes time to create tables, lists, forms and maintain colour schemes. Hence it is time-consuming.
• HTML is not useful for dynamic pages.
• Simple web page creation requires writing a long code.
• Checking the deprecated tags is required because if HTML is used with another language, it may overwrite the code and change the tags. Therefore, it would require knowledge of the other language as well.
• HTML has limited security features.
• Complexity is produced if we wish to write long code in HTML.
• HTML only creates plain and static pages.
• Easy web pages would also require rigorous code writing.