HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) is how and why WWW pages end up looking like they do. It is a method by which you can organize text, pictures, movies and sound for display with an Internet browser. When you access a WWW page, your Internet browser goes to the computer (server) you specified in the address. Next it looks for a file on the server that you also specified in the address. This file is called an HTML document. An HTML document reads like plain english except for bracketed tags which occur throughout the text.
"Tags" are what make HTML work. They're markers used to format the text, and or images, in an HTML document. Formatting in this sense could mean the color, alignment, font, or size of text that you want to display on your web page. Tags are also used to display and align images, movies and all the other fancy stuff you see on web pages these days. Essentially, tags are what the browser uses to display the HTML document in the format intended by the author.
There are several different ways to go about creating an HTML document. Generally, there are two categories: online or offline editing.
On-line editing is the process by which an HTML document is edited while you're connected to the server where it resides. On our Alpha UNIX system here at La Salle, students can use the built-in UNIX editors "Pico" or "VI". This method is generally preferred when you want to edit small portions of an existing HTML document. Since you're editing it "in-place", no FTP'ing (copying of the file from your computer or floppy to the server) is necessary.
Off-line editing is generally preferred when you're creating a page from the ground-up, or when you need to do a LOT of editing to an existing page. There are literally hundreds of off-line editors; Microsoft's FrontPage, HotDog, & Adobe PageMaker to name just a few. It is also possible (if you really like HTML) to create a page with almost any word-processing program (like Notepad) and a browser (eg: Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer). The proper choice usually comes down to your own personal preference and which program(s) give you the desired output most efficiently.
There are an immensely large number of ways to create a web page. Our focus here will be on how to write HTML. Composing a page once you know HTML should be rather simple for you. LaSalle students should check out this page for help on how to create your own web page on Alpha, the school's UNIX server.
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