HTML tag

Introduction to HTML Tag

The primary component required to add italic style to text on a web page is the HTML tag, which stands for "italic." Its main function is to italicize the font style of certain words or phrases to emphasize or highlight them visually. The enclosed content is not given any specific semantic meaning by the tag, which mostly deals with text appearance.

Key Concepts

Italic Formatting: Italic formatting is possible because of the presentational element known as the tag, which enables web designers to highlight content by presenting it in an italic typeface. This is particularly helpful for highlighting foreign words, book titles, magazine titles, and other phrases.
No Semantic Meaning: The tag doesn't give the content it encloses any inherent semantic meaning, unlike some other HTML elements like (emphasis) and (strong importance). It only considers aesthetic design.
Semantic vs Stylistic Tags: It's crucial to distinguish between semantic and stylistic tags, such as . Semantic tags give the information structure and meaning, facilitating search engine optimization and accessibility. Although the element may change how text appears, it doesn't convey any particular meaning.

Syntax and Usage

Following are some specifications about the HTML tag

Display	Inline
Start tag/End tag	Both Start and End tag
Usage	Textual

Example 1

<!DOCTYPE html>  
<html>  
<head>  
    <title>HTML i Tag</title>  
    <style>  
        p{  
        color: #e9967a;   
        }  
        i{  
        color: green;  
        }  
    </style>  
</head>  
<body>  
<h2>Example of HTML i tag</h2>  
<p>John and his team are ready for his new gaming project <i>Marko Series 3</i> </p>   
</body>  
</html>  

Output:

HTML vs CSS Italics:

Different text formatting methods are used when italics are applied using the HTML tag and CSS. The two techniques are contrasted here, along with when to apply each strategy:

	<i> Tag	CSS Italics
Purpose	The <i> tag is mostly used for presentational functions, notably to give text an italicized appearance. The content it encloses receives no meaningful value from it.	A thorough styling tool for web content is offered by cascading style sheets (CSS). CSS can apply Italics and other styles to text and other HTML components.
Usage	When you wish to quickly and simply italicize text without giving it any special significance or meaning, use the <i> tag. Common uses include emphasizing a sentence or highlighting a book title within a paragraph for ornamental or visual effects.	When you want precise control over text design and keep a distinct line between content and presentation, use CSS for italics. Italicizing particular elements, classes, or IDs in CSS enables uniform styling across a website.
Accessibility	The <i> tag alone does not improve accessibility or offer semantic meaning. Consider using semantic tags like <em> or combining <i> with CSS for display to indicate meaning or emphasis.	By maintaining the HTML structure alone when utilizing CSS for styling, semantic meaning can be preserved. This keeps the material accessible because screen readers can still accurately comprehend its meaning in this way.

Syntax: CSS for Italics

<style>
  .italic-text {
    font-style: italic;
  }
</style>
...
<p class="italic-text">This text is styled using CSS.</p>

Nesting Tags

You can format particular text passages in italics within a larger context by nesting HTML tags within other HTML components. Observe these rules to properly nest tags:

1. Tags for opening and closing:

Always make sure each nested chunk of text has an opening i> tag and a corresponding closing /i> tag.

2. Proper Hierarchy:

Nesting should adhere to the correct HTML element structure. The outer i> tag must completely contain the inner i> tag.

3. Prevent Overlap:

To avoid unexpected outcomes, keep nested i> tags and any other tags that apply identical styling from overlapping.

4. Preserving Semantic Meaning

Be careful to keep your content's semantic meaning intact. Nesting i> tags shouldn't alter the text's intended meaning.

Here are some illustrations of how to properly nest tags inside of other HTML elements:

Example 1: Paragraphs nested within paragraphs

<p>This is a <i>nested <i>italic</i> text</i> example.</p> <p>This is normal text</p>

Output:

This example shows "italic" nested inside of "nested italic text," when viewed in a web browser, both instances will be italicized.

Example 2: Nesting within Headings

Output:

The entire heading text in this instance, including the nested piece, will be italicized.

Example 3: Nesting for Emphasis

<p>So, here we will see an <i>example of emphasizing <i>important</i> text</i> using nested <i>tags</i>.</p>

Output:

In the above case, "important" is nested inside "emphasizing important text," both occurrences will be italicized for emphasis.

Example 3: Nesting within Lists

<ul>
  <li><i>Item 1</i></li>
  <li><i>Item 2</i></li>
</ul>

Output:

In this last example, all the list items are italicized since the content of each list item is nestled inside tags.

Note: Although nesting tags can be useful for applying italic formatting to particular portions of your element, keep in mind to use it carefully to prevent overusing it or circumstances where more semantically meaningful tags, such , could be more appropriate for conveying emphasis.

Attribute

Tag-specific Attribute

HTML tag does not contain any specific attribute.

Global attribute

HTML tag supports the global attributes in HTML.

Event attribute

HTML tag supports the event attributes in HTML.

Deprecated HTML Attributes

Attributes initially connected to HTML elements but no longer advised or accepted in modern HTML are deprecated attributes. In the instance of the tag, no particular attributes were closely related and universally outmoded. In the past, the tag's primary function was to provide italic styling to text, and it had a few other properties.

Although various elements can have varied uses for HTML attributes, some stylistic and presentation-related characteristics may have become obsolete. Due to the mixing of presentation and content with these deprecated attributes, which can result in less accessible and maintainable code, they are frequently discouraged. Modern web development techniques encourage using JavaScript for behaviour and CSS for styling.

The following are some stylistic attributes that were once widely used but are now generally deprecated for all HTML elements, including those used for presentation:

Align Attribute: Previously, the horizontal alignment of an element (such as left, right, or centre) could be specified using the align attribute. However, CSS is now preferred over it for alignment and placement.

Deprecation is necessary because CSS should be used to manage presentation-related styling, which will better separate content and presentation.

Style Attribute: The style attribute is frequently used to apply inline CSS styles directly to HTML components, even though it is not exclusive to the i> tag. This strategy should be avoided since it combines presentation with content and can result in less dependable code. The best option for uniform and scalable styling is external CSS stylesheets.

The style attribute's poor maintainability and reusability make its use not advised for styling reasons.

Supporting Browsers

Element	Chrome	IE	Firefox	Opera	Safari
<i>	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

HTML5 and Deprecated Usage

The tag is still included in HTML5; however, due to changes in usage, it is currently regarded as deprecated for several uses and should instead be styled with CSS. The tag is deprecated for various uses in HTML5 and is often used as follows:

Presentational Formatting: In HTML5, italicizing text is a common presentational formatting technique. Using it for this purpose is still acceptable, but it must be understood that this usage is purely stylistic and has no semantic value.
Deprecation of the Tag for Styling: Separating content from presentation is a fundamental idea of modern web development, and it is the reason behind the deprecation of the element for styling purposes. There are various benefits of using CSS for styling rather than HTML tags like .
Use and for semantic formatting to communicate meaning. Use CSS and custom classes to separate content and presentation for only presentational formatting. This method produces web code that is easier to read and maintain.

Differences Between the , , and tags in HTML

	<i>	<em>	<strong>
Semantic Meaning	None	Emphasis	Strong emphasis
Default Styling	Italic styling	Usually, italic styling	Bold italic styling
Accessibility	less accessible	More accessible	More accessible
Nesting	can nest inside of itself and other tags	can nest inside of itself and other tags	can nest inside of itself and other tags
Semantic Hierarchy	Lacks hierarchy	Nested Emphasis Hierarchical	Nested Strong Emphasis Hierarchical
Use in Citations	Not recommended for citations	Suitable	Suitable