Introduction to HTML

What is an HTML File?

• HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language
• An HTML file is a text file containing small markup tags
• The markup tags tell the Web browser how to display the page
• An HTML file must have an htm or html file extension
• An HTML file can be created using a simple text editor
  

  HTM or HTML Extension?

  When you save an HTML file, you can use either the .htm or the .html extension. We have used .htm in our examples. It might be a bad habit inherited from the past when some of the commonly used software only allowed three letter extensions.

  With newer software we think it will be perfectly safe to use .html.

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  Note on HTML Editors:

  You can easily edit HTML files using a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor like FrontPage, Claris Home Page, or Adobe PageMill instead of writing your markup tags in a plain text file.

  But if you want to be a skillful Web developer, we strongly recommend that you use a plain text editor to learn your primer HTML.

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  Frequently Asked Questions

  Q: After I have edited an HTML file, I cannot view the result in my browser. Why?
  A: Make sure that you have saved the file with a proper name and extension like "c:\mypage.htm". Also make sure that you use the same name when you open the file in your browser.

  Q: I have tried to edit an HTML file but the changes don't show in the browser. Why?
  A: The browser caches your pages so it doesn't have to read the same page twice. When you have changed a page, the browser doesn't know that. Use the browser's refresh/reload button to force the browser to read the edited page.

  Q: What browser should I use?
  A: You can do all the training with all of the common browsers, like Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Netscape, or Opera. However, some of the examples in our advanced classes require the latest versions of the browsers.

  Q: Does my computer have to run Windows? What about a Mac?
  A: You can do all your training on a non-Windows computer like a Mac. However, some of the examples in our advanced classes require a newer version of Windows, like Windows 98 or Windows 2000.

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