Interactive HTML Tutorial

Chapter 8: Clean HTML Code, Comments and Escape Codes

BASIC HTML

Chapter 1:
The HTML Basics Chapter 2:
HTML Tags 1 Chapter 3:
HTML Tags 2 Chapter 4:
HTML Tags 3 Chapter 5:
Fonts and Text Colors Chapter 6:
Links and Images Chapter 7:
Lists Bullets etc. Chapter 8:
Clean HTML Code Chapter 9:
HTML Navigation

ADVANCED HTML

Chapter 10:
Tables Chapter 11:
Using Frames Chapter 12:
Using Meta Tags Chapter 13:
Forms 1 Chapter 14:
Forms 2 Chapter 15:
Forms 3 Chapter 16:
Counters, Guestbooks Chapter 17:
Graphics Chapter 18:
HTML Style Basics Chapter 19:
Resources

Chapter 8: Clean Code, Comments, and Escape Codes
Clean Code...

Clean code means that your HTML coding follows all specifications. Here are a few ways to keep your code clean:

Don't type special characters into your code, instead type their escape code... many characters should NEVER be typed directly into HTML code... for example the "<", ">", the "©", "&", and the " itself. Instead, type &escape_code; (Ampersand, Escape Code for Character, then a semicolon). For these 5 characters, here are the escape codes...
- For the < type <
- For the > type >
- For the © type ©
- For the & type &
- For the " type "

Use quotes around values in attributes... For example, if you want a horizontal rule that is half of the screen width, type <hr width="50%"> rather than <hr width=50%>, or if you want one that is size 5 type <hr size="5"> rather than <hr size=5>.
Don't overlap tags... Overlapping occurs when Tag A starts, Tag B starts, Tag A closes, then Tag B closes. This will cause errors in sensitive browsers. For Example, it will not render correctly in Navigator 4.0 Beta1, Netscape purposefully built into the browser so developers could catch errors.

Wrong Way (Overlaps):
<font size=+1><b>This is Bold and One Font Size Bigger</font></b>
Right Way (Doesn't Overlap):
<font size=+1><b>This is Bold and One Font Size Bigger</b></font>
Wrong Way (Overlaps):
<a href="here.html"><i>This link is italicized</a></i>
Right Way (Doesn't Overlap):
<a href="here.html"><i>This link is italicized</i></a>

The Comment Tag...

If you are writing an HTML document, sometimes you may want to put little reminders to yourself with your code so that you will be able to interpret your coding better. A comment will not appear in a web browser when the page is displayed... it is only visible when the source code is viewed. You start commented text with .

Your own HTML page...

Add the following to your HTML page ("Home.htm"): (the blue text is what to add)

<html> <head><title>My Home Page</title></head>  <body background="bgnd.gif">  <center><font color="Blue"><h1>YOURNAME's Home Page</h1></font></center>  <hr>  This is the home page of <a href="mailto:YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS"><img src="bullet.gif" border=0><b>YOURNAME</b>.<img src="bullet.gif" border=0></a> <p>Type something about yourself here. Describe briefly who you are and what you do for a living. Remember to use bold and italic text, for emphasis.</p> <hr> <h2>My favourite Web Sites</h2> <br>  <ul> <li> <a href="http://www.xencon.com">Xenon Web Design</a> </li> <li> <a href="http://www.microsoft.com">Microsoft</a> </li> <li> <a href="http://www.sybase.com">Sybase</a> </li> <li> <a href="http://www.sybase.co.za">Sybase South Africa</a> </li> </ul> </body> </html>
Save the text file as "Home.htm".

Go To Chapter 9