21. What is a Hypertext link?
A hypertext link is a special tag that links one page to another page or resource. If you click the link, the browser jumps to the link's destination.
22. How comfortable are you with writing HTML entirely by hand?
Very. I don’t usually use WYSIWYG. The only occasions when I do use Dreamweaver are when I want to draw something to see what it looks like, and then I’ll usually either take that design and hand-modify it or build it all over again from scratch in code. I have actually written my own desktop HTML IDE for Windows (it’s called Less Than Slash) with the intention of deploying it for use in web development training. If has built-in reference features, and will autocomplete code by parsing the DTD you specify in the file. That is to say, the program doesn’t know anything about HTML until after it parses the HTML DTD you specified. This should give you some idea of my skill level with HTML.
23. What is everyone using to write HTML?
Everyone has a different preference for which tool works best for them. Keep in mind that typically the less HTML the tool requires you to know, the worse the output of the HTML. In other words, you can always do it better by hand if you take the time to learn a little HTML.
24. What is a DOCTYPE? Which one do I use?
According to HTML standards, each HTML document begins with a DOCTYPE declaration that specifies which version of HTML the document uses. Originally, the DOCTYPE declaration was used only by SGML-based tools like HTML validators, which needed to determine which version of HTML a document used (or claimed to use).
Today, many browsers use the document's DOCTYPE declaration to determine whether to use a stricter, more standards-oriented layout mode, or to use a "quirks" layout mode that attempts to emulate older, buggy browsers.
25. Can I nest tables within tables?
Yes, a table can be embedded inside a cell in another table. Here's a simple example:
<table>
<tr>
<td>this is the first cell of the outer table</td>
<td>this is the second cell of the outer table,
with the inner table embedded in it
<table>
<tr>
<td>this is the first cell of the inner table</td>
<td>this is the second cell of the inner table</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
The main caveat about nested tables is that older versions of Netscape Navigator have problems with them if you don't explicitly close your TR, TD, and TH elements. To avoid problems, include every </tr>, </td>, and </th> tag, even though the HTML specifications don't require them. Also, older versions of Netscape Navigator have problems with tables that are nested extremely deeply (e.g., tables nested ten deep). To avoid problems, avoid nesting tables more than a few deep. You may be able to use the ROWSPAN and COLSPAN attributes to minimize table nesting. Finally, be especially sure to validate your markup whenever you use nested tables.
26. How do I align a table to the right (or left)?
You can use <TABLE ALIGN="right"> to float a table to the right. (Use ALIGN="left" to float it to the left.) Any content that follows the closing </TABLE> tag will flow around the table. Use <BR CLEAR="right"> or <BR CLEAR="all"> to mark the end of the text that is to flow around the table, as shown in this example:
The table in this example will float to the right.
<table align="right">...</table>
This text will wrap to fill the available space to the left of (and if the text is long enough, below) the table.
<br clear="right">
This text will appear below the table, even if there is additional room to its left.
27. How can I use tables to structure forms?
Small forms are sometimes placed within a TD element within a table. This can be a useful for positioning a form relative to other content, but it doesn't help position the form-related elements relative to each other.
To position form-related elements relative to each other, the entire table must be within the form. You cannot start a form in one TH or TD element and end in another. You cannot place the form within the table without placing it inside a TH or TD element. You can put the table inside the form, and then use the table to position the INPUT, TEXTAREA, SELECT, and other form-related elements, as shown in the following example.
<FORM ACTION="[URL]">
<TABLE BORDER="0">
<TR>
<TH>Account:</TH>
<TD><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="account"></TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TH>Password:</TH>
<TD><INPUT TYPE="password" NAME="password"></TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD> </TD>
<TD><INPUT TYPE="submit" NAME="Log On"></TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</FORM>
28. How do I center a table?
In your HTML, use
<div class="center">
<table>...</table>
</div>
In your CSS, use
div.center {
text-align: center;
}
div.center table {
margin-left: auto;
margin-right: auto;
text-align: left;
}
29. How do I use forms?
The basic syntax for a form is: <FORM ACTION="[URL]">...</FORM>
When the form is submitted, the form data is sent to the URL specified in the ACTION attribute. This URL should refer to a server-side (e.g., CGI) program that will process the form data. The form itself should contain
* at least one submit button (i.e., an <INPUT TYPE="submit" ...> element),
* form data elements (e.g., <INPUT>, <TEXTAREA>, and <SELECT>) as needed, and
* additional markup (e.g., identifying data elements, presenting instructions) as needed.
30. How can I check for errors?
HTML validators check HTML documents against a formal definition of HTML syntax and then output a list of errors. Validation is important to give the best chance of correctness on unknown browsers (both existing browsers that you haven't seen and future browsers that haven't been written yet).
HTML checkers (linters) are also useful. These programs check documents for specific problems, including some caused by invalid markup and others caused by common browser bugs. Checkers may pass some invalid documents, and they may fail some valid ones.
All validators are functionally equivalent; while their reporting styles may vary, they will find the same errors given identical input. Different checkers are programmed to look for different problems, so their reports will vary significantly from each other. Also, some programs that are called validators (e.g. the "CSE HTML Validator") are really linters/checkers. They are still useful, but they should not be confused with real HTML validators.
When checking a site for errors for the first time, it is often useful to identify common problems that occur repeatedly in your markup. Fix these problems everywhere they occur (with an automated process if possible), and then go back to identify and fix the remaining problems.
Link checkers follow all the links on a site and report which ones are no longer functioning. CSS checkers report problems with CSS style sheets.
A hypertext link is a special tag that links one page to another page or resource. If you click the link, the browser jumps to the link's destination.
22. How comfortable are you with writing HTML entirely by hand?
Very. I don’t usually use WYSIWYG. The only occasions when I do use Dreamweaver are when I want to draw something to see what it looks like, and then I’ll usually either take that design and hand-modify it or build it all over again from scratch in code. I have actually written my own desktop HTML IDE for Windows (it’s called Less Than Slash) with the intention of deploying it for use in web development training. If has built-in reference features, and will autocomplete code by parsing the DTD you specify in the file. That is to say, the program doesn’t know anything about HTML until after it parses the HTML DTD you specified. This should give you some idea of my skill level with HTML.
23. What is everyone using to write HTML?
Everyone has a different preference for which tool works best for them. Keep in mind that typically the less HTML the tool requires you to know, the worse the output of the HTML. In other words, you can always do it better by hand if you take the time to learn a little HTML.
24. What is a DOCTYPE? Which one do I use?
According to HTML standards, each HTML document begins with a DOCTYPE declaration that specifies which version of HTML the document uses. Originally, the DOCTYPE declaration was used only by SGML-based tools like HTML validators, which needed to determine which version of HTML a document used (or claimed to use).
Today, many browsers use the document's DOCTYPE declaration to determine whether to use a stricter, more standards-oriented layout mode, or to use a "quirks" layout mode that attempts to emulate older, buggy browsers.
25. Can I nest tables within tables?
Yes, a table can be embedded inside a cell in another table. Here's a simple example:
<table>
<tr>
<td>this is the first cell of the outer table</td>
<td>this is the second cell of the outer table,
with the inner table embedded in it
<table>
<tr>
<td>this is the first cell of the inner table</td>
<td>this is the second cell of the inner table</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
The main caveat about nested tables is that older versions of Netscape Navigator have problems with them if you don't explicitly close your TR, TD, and TH elements. To avoid problems, include every </tr>, </td>, and </th> tag, even though the HTML specifications don't require them. Also, older versions of Netscape Navigator have problems with tables that are nested extremely deeply (e.g., tables nested ten deep). To avoid problems, avoid nesting tables more than a few deep. You may be able to use the ROWSPAN and COLSPAN attributes to minimize table nesting. Finally, be especially sure to validate your markup whenever you use nested tables.
26. How do I align a table to the right (or left)?
You can use <TABLE ALIGN="right"> to float a table to the right. (Use ALIGN="left" to float it to the left.) Any content that follows the closing </TABLE> tag will flow around the table. Use <BR CLEAR="right"> or <BR CLEAR="all"> to mark the end of the text that is to flow around the table, as shown in this example:
The table in this example will float to the right.
<table align="right">...</table>
This text will wrap to fill the available space to the left of (and if the text is long enough, below) the table.
<br clear="right">
This text will appear below the table, even if there is additional room to its left.
27. How can I use tables to structure forms?
Small forms are sometimes placed within a TD element within a table. This can be a useful for positioning a form relative to other content, but it doesn't help position the form-related elements relative to each other.
To position form-related elements relative to each other, the entire table must be within the form. You cannot start a form in one TH or TD element and end in another. You cannot place the form within the table without placing it inside a TH or TD element. You can put the table inside the form, and then use the table to position the INPUT, TEXTAREA, SELECT, and other form-related elements, as shown in the following example.
<FORM ACTION="[URL]">
<TABLE BORDER="0">
<TR>
<TH>Account:</TH>
<TD><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="account"></TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TH>Password:</TH>
<TD><INPUT TYPE="password" NAME="password"></TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD> </TD>
<TD><INPUT TYPE="submit" NAME="Log On"></TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</FORM>
28. How do I center a table?
In your HTML, use
<div class="center">
<table>...</table>
</div>
In your CSS, use
div.center {
text-align: center;
}
div.center table {
margin-left: auto;
margin-right: auto;
text-align: left;
}
29. How do I use forms?
The basic syntax for a form is: <FORM ACTION="[URL]">...</FORM>
When the form is submitted, the form data is sent to the URL specified in the ACTION attribute. This URL should refer to a server-side (e.g., CGI) program that will process the form data. The form itself should contain
* at least one submit button (i.e., an <INPUT TYPE="submit" ...> element),
* form data elements (e.g., <INPUT>, <TEXTAREA>, and <SELECT>) as needed, and
* additional markup (e.g., identifying data elements, presenting instructions) as needed.
30. How can I check for errors?
HTML validators check HTML documents against a formal definition of HTML syntax and then output a list of errors. Validation is important to give the best chance of correctness on unknown browsers (both existing browsers that you haven't seen and future browsers that haven't been written yet).
HTML checkers (linters) are also useful. These programs check documents for specific problems, including some caused by invalid markup and others caused by common browser bugs. Checkers may pass some invalid documents, and they may fail some valid ones.
All validators are functionally equivalent; while their reporting styles may vary, they will find the same errors given identical input. Different checkers are programmed to look for different problems, so their reports will vary significantly from each other. Also, some programs that are called validators (e.g. the "CSE HTML Validator") are really linters/checkers. They are still useful, but they should not be confused with real HTML validators.
When checking a site for errors for the first time, it is often useful to identify common problems that occur repeatedly in your markup. Fix these problems everywhere they occur (with an automated process if possible), and then go back to identify and fix the remaining problems.
Link checkers follow all the links on a site and report which ones are no longer functioning. CSS checkers report problems with CSS style sheets.
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