Articles
“HTML Tutorial.” (n.d.). W3Schools.
Retrieved from http://www.w3schools.com/HTML/
Overall,
the document “HTML Tutorial” (n.d.) provided straightforward information on
using HTML. A lot of it was new and unfamiliar. For example, under the chapter
“HTML Editors,” the tutorial recommends different HTML editors for editing HTML
– even going so far as to suggest that utilizing a basic text editor would help
new users learn about HTML (“HTML Tutorial,” n.d., under “HTML Editors”). I did
not know that such editors existed or that anyone would need it. In retrospect,
though, it would make writing HTML more quick and efficient. I do wonder if
their claim would work, however. It would depend on the user; some people can
learn more easily with firsthand experience while others might need a more
human guide in learning HTML.
There
were some parts, though, I want to know more details about. In the
introduction, the document states that HTML tags and HTML elements usually
describe the same things, “but strictly speaking, an HTML element is everything
between the start tag and the end tag, including the tags” (“HTML Tutorial,”
n.d., under “Introduction”). Usually with the phrase “but strictly speaking,” a
person means an opposite idea; in this case, it implies that although the tags
and elements are used in the same way, they aren’t the same nor act in the same
way. What’s confusing me is what the difference is. The description above for
HTML tags describe the exact same thing (ibid.). So is there a difference?
Should there be a difference? Additionally, I understand the basic idea for why
the tutorial recommends using lower case attributes/attribute values since they
are case-sensitive (ibid., under “HTML Attributes”) but I feel like there is
more to it than that. If I understood the logistics better, I probably would
know why lower case is used instead of upper case – such knowledge would
hopefully clear things up a little. But why one over the other? If both can
theoretically work, then maybe including both can expand the list of attributes
to encompass new kinds or maybe help organize the ones in existence.
“HTML Cheatsheet Guide.” (2008). Webmonkey.com. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/images/multimedia/webmonkeycheatsheet_full.pdf
The guide “HTML Cheatsheet Guide”
(2008) seems like it would be suitable for a quick reference. It provides tags
and their descriptions for a lot of the most basic HTML a person might have to
do, such as creating a HTML document with <html></html> (“HTML Cheatsheet
Guide, 2008, under “Basic Tags”) or forming new paragraphs with
<p></p> (ibid., under “Formatting). I’ve never had to use HTML like
this before, so I cannot say for sure if the guide covers all of the basic tags
or elements a user would necessarily need. From what I can interpret, though,
it accomplishes its goals.
If I ever had to create a HTML
document by using HTML tags, I would like to experiment with the tags offered.
I would need to get the basics down first, but the later sections – “Forms,”
Graphical Elements,” and “Links” – would prove a good basic challenge. What
would be the most interesting to try is the tags for creating Submit buttons
(“HTML Cheatsheet Guide, 2008, under “Forms”) and adding images and their
descriptions (ibid., under “Graphical Elements). The former seems a little more
complicated than the other more straight-forward tags provided and the later
would be fun to learn, especially since it would be helpful in the future to
have an option in adding pictures to a document.
Pratter, F. E. (2011). “Introduction to HTML,” Chapter 2 of Web Development with SAS by Example. Retrieved
from http://books.google.com/books?id=GQxv8xaIPFYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Frederick+E.+Pratter%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Mr9eUtnXEdSp4APItICACQ&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false
Reading this chapter helped answer
some of my questions that I posed in the “HTML Tutorial.” For example,
concerning lower vs upper case, F. E. Pratter (2011) notes that HTML 4.0 tags
aren’t case sensitive but standard requires lower case (20). While this does
not answer why lower case is preferred, it does elaborate on the background for
my questions. However, it disagrees somewhat with the other readings.
Apparently professional Web developers prefer to write HTML from its roots by
employing text editors such as Notepad or KEDIT (Pratter, 2011, 16) – this
questions somewhat the recommendation of “HTML Tutorial” that a basic editor
would help beginners learn HTML (“HTML Tutorial,” n.d., under “HTML Editors”).
Based on the context, they might be both wrong and right; some text editors
would be basic enough for a novice to use and learn from, while there are more
advanced versions for the professionals. It seems kind of strange that Pratter
does not acknowledge the types of editors available based on expertise, or
categorize them by some sort of evaluation. In this regard, the “HTML Tutorial”
at least implies a difference even though it does not state it explicitly. This
might have to do with the type of audiences they each target; both introduce
users to HTML, but whereas the “HTML Tutorial” seems more like shorthand notes
– noting differences and steps – the other is focused on explanations.
The article overall provides a good
analysis of web guides. In particular, D. Goans and his fellow writers’ (2006)
look at what content is in a CMS was interesting. They note that “content” consists
of a broad spectrum of forms depending on the organization, usually including
resource links, webpages, image files, PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, and Word
documents (Goans, Leach, and Vogel, 2006, 31-2). As such, there is no standard
to what “content” is. It can include a wide variety of types of information as
long as it is part of the CMS. Additionally, the content itself “is
disconnected from the layout and design elements of the page” (ibid., 31). It
makes sense; the content is the information itself and permanent while the layout
and design elements can change. However, this can’t be entirely true. While the
two can be separate, the content and layout and design elements do depend on
each other to transfer knowledge. Layout and design elements also determine the
appearance of the content, influencing how a user interprets the information,
so the two are interconnected.
Reading the article also offers a
inside look into the development and consideration of web guides, which was
informative. For example, the explanation of how they decided on the solutions
to their problem – whether through commercial software such as Dreamweaver (Goans,
Leach, and Vogel, 2006, 33), open source web site systems or “Frankensteining”
products together (ibid., 34), or introducing an in-house web development
project (ibid., 34) – supplied not only information on what options are out
there for institutions in similar situations, but also gives an idea of how
library management works, evaluating and determining options as a group.
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