Week 8: HTML and Web Authoring Software

(1) Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML, is a standardized system for tagging text files to achieve font, color, graphic, and hyperlink effects to create web pages.  (2) HTML has a short list of tags that are commonly used.  Once these HTML codes are understood, a creator would need to determine in which order to assemble the codes.  (3) Because there is often a lot of repetition with HTML coding (such as using "<p>...</p>" to create a define paragraph), properly coding can take quite some time.  (4) There are several tools available for novice HTML coders to utilize in order to make this process go much quicker and smoother.  (5) Sources, such as Webmonkey, provide users with cheatsheets to help those who have not yet memorized the codes.  (6) Many professional web developers and coders often prefer to create codes from scratch in order to get the page exactly how they intended it.  (7) HTML coding can be used for a large variety of tools while creating or editing a webpage.  Some of these include inserting images, changing background colors, inserting tables, hyperlinking webpages, or even adding hyperlinks for emails.  (8) A huge form that I did not know how to do prior to this, was inserting a HTML form in to a webpage.  After reviewing the HTML codes used for HTML forms, I believe that I could easily create a form that users could fill in for a webpage.  (9) One code that I have used in experiences (other than creating MySpace page layouts) was the first form control, or widget.  I've used this while at my internship when creating and updating LibGuides.  (10) Something I've learned while completing these readings is that HTML coding looks extremely complex, but is actually repetitive and relatively easy to understand.

Notes from Required Readings:
1) W3schools HTML Tutorial: http://www.w3schools.com/HTML/
2) HTML Cheatsheet http://www.webmonkey.com/2010/02/html_cheatsheet/3) Pratter, F.E. (2011) Introduction to HTML, Chapter 2 of Web Development With SAS by Example, 3^rd Edition (Google Book) http://books.google.com/books?id=l_MFZYMv3YgC&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15&dq=introduction+to+html+pratter&source=bl&ots=nXRgMFYZHz&sig=muV0UY1c_ePZO1pcdu8_V_IdbwQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Mvs4ULG9O4Gf6QG8h4GICw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=introduction%20to%20html%20pratter&f=false
4) Goans, D., Leach, G., & Vogel, T. M. (2006). Beyond HTML: Developing and re-imagining library web guides in a content management system. Library Hi Tech, 24(1), 29-53.