A Guide on how to use HTML code on DeviantART.com

Introduction

Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is the main markup language for creating web pages and other information that can be displayed in a web browser [1]. Hypertext is simply a piece of text that works as a link. Markup Language is a way of writing layout information within documents.

Hypertext

A method of storing data through a computer program that allows a user to create and Link fields of information at will and to retrieve the data non-Sequentially. Hypertext is the presentation of information as a linked network of nodes.

non-Sequentially: Not sequential or Linear.

Sequential: Succeeding or following in order. Characterized by regular sequence of parts.

Link (Or Hyperlink): The traversable connection between two nodes.
An anchor is the visible part of a Link between the nodes, which must be selected to activate the link.

Hypertext, at its most basic level, is a DBMS that lets you connect screens of information using associative links.

At its most sophisticated level, Hypertext is a software environment for collaborative work, communication, and knowledge acquisition. Hypertext products mimic the brain's ability to store and retrieve information by referential links for quick and intuitive access.

The Electronic Labyrinth
Webopedia.com - Hypertext

Markup Language

Markup refers to the sequence of characters or other symbols, inserted at certain places to indicate how the file should look when it is printed or displayed. Or to describe the document's logical structure. The markup indicators are called 'Tags' [2].

HTML is a descriptive Markup Language, used to label parts of the document rather than to provide specific instructions as to how they should be processed. It provides detailed instructions, indicating the Format, Style, or Structure for an electronic document or Web page.

HTML has per-defined Presentation Semantics meaning that it specifically prescribes how the structured data is to be presented,
while others, such as XML, do not [3].

Syntax: The way in which linguistic elements (Words) are put together to form constituents. In a Programming Language, a Syntax refers to the spelling and grammar which is expected by the computer. Each program defines its own syntactical rules that control which words the computer understands, which combinations of words are meaningful, and what punctuation is necessary for a document to be structured correctly.

Lexical syntax: All the basic symbols of the language (Names, Values, Operators)
Concrete syntax: The rules for writing Expressions, Statements and Programs
Abstract syntax: The internal representation of the program specified by a simpler grammar than the concrete syntax

HTML is written in the form of HTML elements consisting of tags enclosed in angle brackets, within the web page content.
All tags must have an opening and a closing tag and must be used for your formatting to work correctly.

You need to start your sentence with an opening tag <> and when you wish to end your specified formatting style you need to end it with the closing tag </>. Anything between these tags will be displayed in the specified style.

A Web browser reads the HTML files and composes them into visible or audible Web pages.
The browser does not display the HTML tags, but uses them to interpret the content of the page. When a browser opens an HTML file, the browser will look for HTML codes in the text and use them to change the Layout, insert images, or create Links to other pages.
A special HTML editor, called an WYSIWYG editor ("What You See Is What You Get"), helps to put focus on the visual result.

HTML Codes

The tag words for Bold, Italic, Underline, _Subscript, Strike, and ^Superscript text can be found here.

Hyperlink's: A hyperlink (Or, anchor) is a word, group of words, or image that you can click on to jump to another document. The HTML "a" tag defines a hyperlink. The most important attribute of the "a" element is the "href" attribute, which indicates the link’s destination.

The "opening tag" for a Hyperlink, begins with: <a href=

Followed by the URL, which is enclosed in two quotation marks, finished with a single right-angle bracket on the end: href="">

The text, image or any other HTML element is then added and finished with the closing tag /a
(Enclosed in two angle brackets) [4].

The full script: <a href=""></a>

The "Target Attribute" also allows you to specify where the link will open [5].

If you set the target attribute to "_blank", the link will open in a new browser window or tab [6].
The script for opening a link in a new window, look's like this: "URL" target="_blank">

Tip: Clicking on a mouse wheel will automatically open a new tab (Depending on what your browser setting's are).

Block Quote's: The "blockquote" tag specifies a section that is quoted from another source [7].

A block quotation is a quotation in a written document, that is set off from the main text as a paragraph, or block of text,
and typically distinguished visually using indentation and a different typeface or smaller size quotation [8].

It may be just a few lines, or it may contain several paragraphs (Which are marked up, using nested p elements) [9].

Acronym's: You can also add pop-up descriptions with a dotted underline to your text by using the "acronym" tag.
The "opening tag" begins with: <acronym title=

Now add the text that will be displayed when the mouse hovers over the text.
This text is enclosed within two quotation marks, with a single angle bracket on the end: "The pop-up text goes here">.

<acronym title=""></acronym>

The acronym is finished off using closing tag's for the Hyperlink (If there is one) and the acronym [10].

References

[1] Wikipedia - HTML
[2] TechTarget - Markup
[3] Wikipedia - Markup Language (Types)
[4] w3schools.com - HTML Hyperlinks (Links)
[5] w3schools.com - Target Attribute
[6] w3schools.com - Try HTML (Link Target)
[7] w3schools.com - HTML blockquote Tag
[8] Wikipedia - Block Quotation
[9] sitepoint.com - blockquote
[10] sitepoint.com - Title Attribute

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