HTML

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HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, is the standardized markup language that web browsers use to interpret and compile text, images, and other material into audible and or visual web pages. Web browsers do not display HTML elements, but use the elements as a means to decipher, process, organize, and display information. Common HTML elements include tags and links. Tim Berners-Lee is recognized as the creator of HTML. HTML became available for public use with the launch of the World Wide Web in 1991. HTML is standardized and free. There are many forms of HTML, however, HTML5 is the most recent version. [1]
Tim Berners-Lee
Tim Berners-Lee [2]

Contents

[edit] History

In 1945, Vannevar Bush envisioned a platform that could serve as an extension of the human memory while simultaneously indexing all of that information in one place. In his 1945 Atlantic Journal article "As We May Think", Bush named such a device Memex, a portmanteau of memory and index. By imagining how the memex platform could serve as “an extension of the human memory”, Bush sought to create, what later became known as, a proto-hypertext system. Bush thought that this would be the best way for researchers to seamlessly share information with one another. These ideas later paved the way for another computer programmer , Ted Nelson. In 1965 Nelson wrote an essay titled, "Complex Information Processing: A File Structure for the Complex, the Changing, and the Indeterminate". In this essay, Ted Nelson coined the term "hypertext". Hypertext Markup Language later became the backbone of Tim Berners-Lee’s creation of the world wide web. Hyper Text Markup Language, (HTML), was created by Tim Berners-Lee while working as a contractor in Switzerland for the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or (CERN).  Berners-Lee created the first HTML prototype as a platform where he and his fellow researchers could share documents. HTML uses a sequence of commands coined by Berners-Lee as “HTML Tags”. “Berners-Lee wanted to make it easier for researchers to share documents loaded on servers, which was then done with the file transfer protocol (FTP). To FTP a file required specialized software and the file itself was not viewable until it was opened in whatever software had created it. There were passwords involved in each transaction and the transferred files might not display properly on the recipients machine. Berners-Lee’s standardized markup language and system on net addresses (the URL, or universal resource locator) made it easier to find the right document on the right machine and to display it in readable form on any platform. Most importantly, HTML included a tagging convention for turning any part of the document into a link, eliminating the need for securing and typing in a URL for every file you wanted to view, and providing a uniform transmission code for hypertext.” [3]The tags consist of 18 different elements, which serve as instructions for markup.

[edit] People

[edit]

Vannevar Bush was born March 11, 1890. He is known for heading the U.S Office of  Scientific Research and Development which was responsible for creating the first atomic bomb under the codename, the Manhattan Project. Bush studied at Tufts University, and later at MIT. He later founded the giant American defense contractor, Raytheon. He invented the first practical differential analyzer while at MIT. He later became the vice president of MIT, the president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, he chaired both the National Defense Research Committee and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Bush was responsible for urging Harry Truman to create the National Science Foundation. He was awarded the Edison Medal, Hoover Medal, Medal for Merit, IRI Medal, National Medal of Science, John Fritz Medal and Atomic Pioneer Award.[4]

[edit] Ted Nelson

Ted Nelson was born June 17, 1937 in Chicago. He studied at Swarthmore College, Harvard University, and Keio University. He is best known for his co-founding the itty bitty machine company or, IBM. His lifeline work has been centered around Project Xanadu. Project Xanadu’s goal is to create a simple computer interface that can be used on all computing platforms. In many ways Nelson paved the way for Berners-Lee's invention of the World Wide Web, through his idea of hypertext .[5]

[edit]
Tim Berners-Lee

Sir Tim Berners Lee  was born June 8, 1955. He is best known for inventing the World Wide Web. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2004. And in April 2007 he was given the Order of Merit by the Queen. Janet Murray says, “Tim Berners-Lee could have turned his invention into another proprietary hypertext system. Instead he made a profound design choice: he decided that HTML should be free and standard, transforming the practice of information sharing on the internet from file transfers, email discussion lists, and proprietary bulletin boards into the World Wide Web that has instantiated Vannevar Bush’s vision of linked information trails, and profoundly transformed our ability to experience shared attention with one another.” [6]

[edit] Structure

HTML documents are composed of a tree of HTML elements and nodes. An HTML element is an individual component of an HTML document or web page. Elements are indicated by HTML tags, which are enclosed in angle brackets. Typically, there is a “start tag” and an “end tag” (although not all need an end tag). The "start tag" may also include attributes.

HTML consists of four basic tags:[7]

  • <html> </html>
    • The html tags notify the browser that this is an HTML document.
  • <head> </head>
    • These tags contain the header information, such as the title of the document.
  • <title> </title>
    • The title tags indicate that this is a title and appears at the top of the browser.
  • <body> </body>
    • The body tags indicate the viewable portion of the document.

There are also semantic divs, which exist for styling purposes only. There are six fundamental semantic divs: [8]

  • <header>
    • Used for introductory elements.
  • <nav>
    • Used for navigational elements.
  • <section>
    • For a section of the document and nesting.
  • <aside>
    • Often initiates a sidebar.
  • <footer>
    • Provides information about authoring, copyright, etc.
  • <article>
    • For stand alone content, such as blog entries.

This visual aid represents how the mentioned semantic divs organize the content of an HTML document:

Semantic Divs

[edit] Future

HTML5 is the newest and most technologically advanced version of HTML. Hyper Text Markup Language will continue to experience simultaneous growth alongside the expansion of the internet's availability to humanity. According to the United Nations, 4.2 Billion people, roughly 60% of the world's population still does not have access to the internet. As more people begin being able to access the internet, the usage of HTML will expand greatly. More and more people will begin accessing the world wide web, which developed due to Tim Berners Lee's work with HTML. HTML and the internet have gone hand in hand since both of their creation. HTML5 has the capability of expanding to be the dominant language used in programming internet gaming. This is due to HTML's ability of running without any online plugins. As the internet continues to maximize the efficiency of nearly every industry, HTML’s usage of sharing information will expand greatly. Platforms and databases are two aspects of the internet which are predicted to see tremendous growth in the next 5 years. The growth of both of these will expand the global reach of HTML. Due to the fact, that HTML is the fundamental global programming language, software such as JAVA can still be interpreted as a combination of HTML characters. JAVA will more than likely emerge as the most commonly used way of computer programming. However, this does not underplay the role of HTML because HTML is core to human communication with the computer. JAVA is essentially a function of our HTML capabilities.HTML is the way humans communicate with each other via the internet. It is the only language in the world that can be understood by both humans and robotic machines. This ability will allow HTML to play a crucial role in the development of Artificial Intelligence. Hyper Text Markup Language will be the backbone of communication between robots and humanity for the foreseeable future. [9]


Tim Berners-Lee is currently attempting to build an information infrastructure that will lead to the development of a Semantic Web, in which meaning is encoded in a way that is easily understandable to humans and machines. This way information can be searched, processed, and retrieved with increased reliability.[10]

[edit] External Links

  1. http://karlstolley.com/
  2. http://www.w3.org/

[edit] References

  1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web
  2. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Tim_Berners-Lee.jpg
  3. Janet Murray, Inventing The Medium: Principles of Interaction Design, (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2012), 256
  4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vannevar_Bush
  5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Nelson
  6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee
  7. https://www.emma.uga.edu/file/978/397078/window/view_file
  8. https://www.emma.uga.edu/file/978/397078/window/view_file
  9. http://www.quirksmode.org/js/intro.html
  10. Janet Murray, Inventing The Medium: Principles of Interaction Design, (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2012), 279
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