Introduction

HTML = HyperText Markup Language

Although the word language is part of HTML it is not a language as in traditional programming, like BASIC, Visual BASIC, COBOL, C+, Perl etc. It is a Mark Up language which should help you understand what it really is. It is much, much easier to learn than a true programming language.

Markup as used in Graphic Arts and Publishing means to mark the text on a page of copy the way you want it to be printed. That's exactly what HTML does. You mark a word, sentence or paragraph to print in boldface by using a code (in this case <b>) to tell the browser to display that on screen in boldface. HTML is simply some bits of code that control the display of your web page on a computer screen. These bits of code are also known as HTML tags. In this tutorial I will use the two terms tag and code interchangeably.

The Internet is always changing, and HTML as we know it is in an evolution from a very basic display language to a very involved and interactive medium. Follow the proper coding methods and you will be ready for the future, and all the changes that it always brings.

Don't get scared about that. What you learn here will not be wasted knowledge and wasted time. As mentioned, backwards compatibility will always allow the browser of the future to display your code. Where things will change is with what you can do with the HTML code of the future compared to how it is today. As long as you code properly, your pages will be easily adapted to anything you may want to add into your pages down the road in the future of your web activities.