HTML References

Tutorials

The three tutorials referenced below, which I will call Raggett, Maricopa, and Kristula's, are very different. Raggett is very short. Maricopa is much more detailed. Kristula's is interactive. You can read either one first, but if you start with Raggett and it doesn't make sense, drop it and go to Maricopa; after finishing Maricopa, come back to Raggett and it will serve as a nice review.

The ideal way to read either of these is at the computer, trying things out as you read about them. Use Notepad or any text editor to create HTML files; then open them with a web browser to check the result.

Writing HTML (Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction). Suggested sections for reading:

0. Standardly

1. First page

2. Modifying

3. Headings

4. Paragraphs

6. Lists

8. Links
Dave Raggett's Introduction to HTML. Suggested areas of concentration: Titles, headings, paragraphs, links to other pages, ordered lists and unordered lists.
Dave Kristula's HTML Tutorial allows you to try out HTML code in your web browser as you are reading it. Unfortunately, this tutorial does not follow current best practice of separating style from content in HTML. But you may find it helpful for giving down-to-earth explanations of the basic elements.

Notes

The following points are not sufficiently emphasized in the readings:

Always use the <html>, <head>, <title>, <body> tags.
Using lower-case tags is preferred because it is required by XHTML, the next generation.
Always use paired tags: <li> ... </li> (or the shortcut form such as <img ... />). Again, this is for compatibility with XHTML.
The best practice is to use HTML tags to mark up content only. Don't use the HTML style elements and attributes; use CSS instead.

Mypage

IU provides the "mypage" web server for students, faculty, and staff who want to create personal web pages. For more information, see At IU, what is Mypage, and how can I publish a web page there?

Further Reference

Raggett's Adding a touch of style covers how to add a style sheet to an HTML document.

The authoritative source for all matters concerning the WWW is the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

There are many, many books and web sites that teach HTML, which you can find by searching.

XHTML validated 2/9/2010.