Introduction to HTML | Still Plugging Away

An HTML document has two major parts: the head and the body

The head element sets the stage for the body, and that's what this lesson is about: setting the stage for the body of the document by giving the overall picture of a document structure and the fundamental definitions and rules for elements and attributes.

In this first video we describe the structure of an HTML page, then introduce the doctype statement, and then explore the general rules for elements and attributes. We then discuss the HTML elements HTML, HEAD, TITLE and an Introduction to META.

Note: I strongly suggest you view all our videos in full screen mode: click the icon in the lower right corner of the video area (it shows four arrows pointing to the corners of the screen). When you are done, the Esc ("escape") key returns you to regular mode.

Lesson 2: Introducing HTML

Click here for the video transcript. IntroductionToHTML.pdf

The video below explores the META element in more depth. It is an optional video because, while it is interesting, it is not necessary for progressing in the course. Consider it more background, or nice-to-know instead of need-to-know.

Optional video: META in more depth

Click here for the video transcript, MoreMETA.pdf

Supplemental materials

    Here's some thoughts on the big picture: the Web is not the Internet
    Here's a kind of nerdy description of Unicode
    A cumulative summary of the contents of the course so far

Hands on exercise

For those who want to practice using what we cover in this class, most lessons have an opportunity for you to learn on your PC. The exercise for this lesson works with some text that includes Japanese characters.

Many browsers can support HTML files that don't follow all the rules. In this lab we will work with two files from your WebFiles directory:

unibody.html.ascii - the body of a file that contains data with both English and Japanese characters, but no <html>, <head>, <title>, or <meta> tags

unitop - which contains the missing top lines of unibody.html.ascii

First, just point your browser to unibody.html.ascii to see how it displays.

Next, combine unitop and unibody.html.ascii, saving it as unirpt1.html (be sure to save it with utf-8 encoding)

Then open unirpt1.html in your browser

Optional experiment: Remove (or comment out) the META element, save, and try again to see if it makes a difference.

This video emphasizes the importance of new lines when writing code

Lesson 2: Introducing HTML
Accent piece: Writing Poetry and Code

Click here for the video transcript, WritingPoetryAndCode.pdf