Internet Skills An Introduction to HTML Alan Noble Room 504 Tel: (44562 internal)

2 What is an HTML Document? HTML documents are plain-text (also known as ASCII) files that can be created using any text editor (e.g. Notepad on a Windows machine). You can also use word-processing software if you remember to save your document as "text only with line breaks".

3 Tags HTML tags consist of a left angle bracket ( ). Tags are usually paired to start and end the tag instruction. The end tag looks just like the start tag except a slash (/) precedes the text within the brackets. (e.g., and )

4 A Simple HTML Document A Simple HTML Example This is simple HTML Welcome to the world of HTML. This is the first paragraph. While short it is still a paragraph! And this is the second paragraph.

5 Your Web Space Create a directory on your M: drive called “PUBLIC.WWW” / Example: This will display the page index.htm (or.html) This will display the page page1.htm

6 Lists (.....,....., etc.) HTML supports unnumbered, numbered, and definition lists. You can nest lists too, but use this feature sparingly because too many nested items can get difficult to follow.

7 Unnumbered Lists To make an unnumbered, bulleted list: Start with an opening list (for unnumbered list) tag Enter the (list item) tag followed by the individual item; no closing tag is needed End the entire list with a closing list tag

8 Example 1.5 Liverpool Univ. CMMS Course: Introduction. Introduction This page introduces the CMMS course at The University of Liverpool Course Details This section will describe the details of the course. Intro to Java Internet Skills Electrical circuits and systems

9 Numbered Lists A numbered list (also called an ordered list, from which the tag name derives) is identical to an unnumbered list, except it uses instead of. The items are tagged using the same tag.

10 Example 1.6 Liverpool Univ. CMMS Course: Introduction. Introduction This page introduces the CMMS course at The University of Liverpool Course Details This section will describe the details of the course. Intro to Java Internet Skills Electrical circuits and systems

11 Definition Lists A definition list (coded as ) usually consists of alternating a definition term (coded as ) and a definition definition (coded as ). Web browsers generally format the definition on a new line and indent it.

12 Example 1.7 Liverpool Univ. CMMS Course: Introduction. Introduction This page introduces the CMMS course at The University of Liverpool Course Details This section will describe the details of the course. Intro to Java Internet Skills Electrical circuits and systems Liverpool University The University of Liverpool offers a wide range of courses. Electrical Engineering The Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics is located on Brownlow Hill

13 The COMPACT attribute The COMPACT attribute can be used routinely in case your definition terms are very short. If, for example, you are showing some computer options, the options may fit on the same line as the start of the definition. COMPACT attribute you can force the output list on the same line.

14 Example 1.8 Liverpool Univ. CMMS Course: Introduction. Introduction This page introduces the CMMS course at The University of Liverpool Course Details This section will describe the details of the course. Intro to Java Internet Skills Electrical circuits and systems Liverpool University The University of Liverpool offers a wide range of courses. Electrical Engineering The Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics is located on Brownlow Hill -i invokes the compiler in immediate mode using the initialization file defined in the path. -d invokes the compiler in debug mode.

15 Example 1.9 Liverpool Univ. CMMS Course: Introduction. Introduction This page introduces the CMMS course at The University of Liverpool Course Details This section will describe the details of the course. Intro to Java Internet Skills Electrical circuits and systems Liverpool University The University of Liverpool offers a wide range of courses. Electrical Engineering The Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics is located on Brownlow Hill -i invokes the compiler in immediate mode using the initialization file defined in the path. -d invokes the compiler in debug mode.

16 Nested Lists Lists can be nested. You can also have a number of paragraphs, each containing a nested list, in a single list item.

17 Example 1.10 ……... invokes the compiler in debug mode. A few Electrical Units: Capacitance (C) Charge (Q) Conductance (G) Current (I) Two Mechanical Units: Force (F) Area (A)

18 Preformatted Text Use the tag (which stands for "preformatted") to generate text in a fixed-width font. This tag also makes spaces, new lines, and tabs significant -- multiple spaces are displayed as multiple spaces, and lines break in the same locations as in the source HTML file. This is useful for program listings, among other things.

19 Example Force (F) Area (A) This is preformatted text notice line breaks and spaces are displayed It is good for program listings #!/bin/csh cd $SCR cfs get mysrc.f:mycfsdir/mysrc.f cfs get myinfile:mycfsdir/myinfile fc -02 -o mya.out mysrc.f mya.out cfs save myoutfile:mycfsdir/myoutfile rm *

20 tag (continued) tag (continued) The tag can be used with an optional WIDTH attribute that specifies the maximum number of characters for a line. Hyperlinks can be used within sections. You should avoid using other HTML tags within sections, however

21 Special Characters Because, and & have special meanings in HTML, not all browsers will display them. To be safe you should always use their escape sequences (<, >, and &, respectively) to enter these characters. Unlike the rest of HTML these sequences are case sensitive. (You should not use &LT;)

22 Example Force (F) Area (A) This is preformatted text notice line breaks and spaces are displayed It is good for program listings #!/bin/csh cd $SCR cfs get mysrc.f:mycfsdir/mysrc.f cfs get myinfile:mycfsdir/myinfile fc -02 -o mya.out mysrc.f mya.out cfs save myoutfile:mycfsdir/myoutfile rm * The less than character < The greater than character > The ampersand character &

23 Extended Quotations Use the tag to include lengthy quotations in a separate block on the screen. Most browsers generally change the margins for the quotation to separate it from surrounding text.

24 Example out mysrc.f mya.out cfs save myoutfile:mycfsdir/myoutfile rm * The less than character < The greater than character > The ampersand character & Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. --William Strunk, 1918

25 Forced Line Breaks/ Postal Addresses The tag forces a line break with no extra (white) space between lines. Using elements for short lines of text such as postal addresses results in unwanted additional white space.

26 For Example This Code: The University of Liverpool, Department of Electrical Engineering & Electronics, Liverpool L69 3GJ

27 Produces this output: The University of Liverpool, Department of Electrical Engineering & Electronics, Liverpool L69 3GJ

28 Example out mysrc.f mya.out cfs save myoutfile:mycfsdir/myoutfile rm * The less than character < The greater than character > The ampersand character & Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. --William Strunk, 1918 The University of Liverpool, Department of Electrical Engineering & Electronics, Liverpool L69 3GJ

29 Horizontal Rules The tag produces a horizontal line the width of the browser window. A horizontal rule is useful to separate major sections of your document. You can vary a rule's size (thickness) and width (the percentage of the window covered by the rule). Experiment with the settings until you are satisfied with the presentation. For example: This draws a central horizontal line, 50% the width of the screen.

30 Example out mysrc.f mya.out cfs save myoutfile:mycfsdir/myoutfile rm * The less than character < The greater than character > The ampersand character & Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. --William Strunk, 1918 The University of Liverpool, Department of Electrical Engineering & Electronics, Liverpool L69 3GJ

31 Linking The real power of HTML comes from its ability to link text and/or an image to another document or section of a document. A browser highlights the identified text or image with colour and/or underlines to indicate that it is a hypertext link (often shortened to hyperlink or just link). HTML's single hypertext-related tag is, which stands for anchor.

32 To include an anchor in your document: Start the anchor with <A (include a space after the A) Specify the document you're linking to by entering the parameter HREF="filename" followed by a closing right angle bracket (>) Enter the text that will serve as the hypertext link in the current document Enter the ending anchor tag: (no space is needed before the end anchor tag)

33 Example out mysrc.f mya.out cfs save myoutfile:mycfsdir/myoutfile rm * The less than character < The greater than character > The ampersand character & Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. --William Strunk, 1918 The University of Liverpool, Department of Electrical Engineering & Electronics, Liverpool L69 3GJ Why not take a look at our course details. Find one that’s just right for you!

34 Relative Versus Absolute Pathnames You can link to documents in other directories by specifying the relative path from the current document to the linked document. For example, a link to a file called “courses.htm” located in the subdirectory called “2000” would be: course details These are called relative links because you are specifying the path to the linked file relative to the location of the current file.

35 Relative Versus Absolute Pathnames (continued) You can also use the absolute pathname (the complete URL) of the file, but relative links are more efficient in accessing a server. They also have the advantage of making your documents more "portable" -- for instance, you can create several web pages in a single folder on your local computer, using relative links to hyperlink one page to another, and then upload the entire folder of web pages to your web server. The pages on the server will then link to other pages on the server, and the copies on your hard drive will still point to the other pages stored there.

36 Using relative links It is important to point out that UNIX is a case-sensitive operating system where filenames are concerned, while DOS, Windows and the MacOS are not. For instance, on a Macintosh, "DOCUMENT.HTML", "Document.HTML", and "document.html" are all the same name. If you make a relative hyperlink to "DOCUMENT.HTML", and the file is actually named "document.html", the link will still be valid. But if you upload all your pages to a UNIX web server, the link will no longer work. Be sure to check your filenames before uploading.

37 Using relative links (continued) Pathnames use the standard UNIX syntax. The UNIX syntax for the parent directory (the directory that contains the current directory) is "..". Similarly the syntax for the current directory is “.”. TopDirectory DetailsDirectory PeopleDirectory file1.htm staff.htm A link in file1 to staff.htm could be: staff details

38 Using relative links (continued) TopDirectory DetailsDirectory PeopleDirectory file1.htm staff.htm But it is better to use a relative link: staff details Here “../” says move up one directory. So “../PeopleDirectory/” says move up one directory and then down into the “PeopleDirectory”. Notice this way I don’t have to know the name of “TopDirectory” as I don’t refer to it.

39 Using relative links (continued) Similarly “../../../design/prototype/test.htm” says move up three directories and down into the directory called “design”. Then down into a directory below “design” called “prototype” where you will find the file called “test.htm”.

40 Use Relative Links In general, you should use relative links whenever possible because: It's easier to move a group of documents to another location (because the relative path names will still be valid) It's more efficient connecting to the server There is less to type

41 URL’s Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) specify the location of files on other servers. A URL includes the type of resource being accessed (e.g., Web, FTP), the address of the server, and the location of the file. The syntax is: scheme://host.domain [:port]/path/ filename

42 URL’s (continued) scheme://host.domain [:port]/path/ filename where scheme is one of filea file on your local system ftp a file on an anonymous FTP server http a file on a World Wide Web server gopher a file on a Gopher server WAIS a file on a WAIS server news a Usenet newsgroup telnet a connection to a Telnet-based service

43 URL’s (continued) scheme://host.domain [:port]/path/ filename The port number is the port id on the destination server. These are now standard and consequently can generally be omitted. (That means unless someone tells you otherwise, leave it out.)