| The Command |
What It Does |
| <ABBR> |
This indicates an abbreviated form of a word. Example:
<ABBR TITLE="National Football
League">NFL</ABBR>
The TITLE command produces a rollover title like the ALT command does on
pictures.
|
| <ACRONYM> |
This works the same way as above except it denotes an acronym. Example:
<ACRONYM TITLE="Self-Contained Underwater
Breathing Apparatus>SCUBA</ACRONYM>
|
| <BDO> |
This is difficult to explain. Text goes left to right and sometimes
right to left. The BDO command denotes to the computer to leave the text in
the direction it is currently in. If you write in Hebrew, a language written
right to left, using the BDO will ensure that other elements such as spell
checkers and such won't be incorporated that will flip text around. It is
most often used in the PRE tags. Example:
<PRE>
<BDO DIR="LTR">hello</BDO>
</PRE>
LTR means "left to right". Guess what "right to left" is represented by.
Yup, RTL. |
| <BUTTON> |
This will become standard code for creating link buttons, like in a
guestbook form. Example: <BUTTON
name="submit" value="submit" type="submit"></BUTTON>
What's more, this format will easily allow for an image to be placed on
the button. |
| <COLGROUP> |
This command allows for an entire column of data in a table to be
affected by one command rather than using a separate command for each cell.
Example:
<COLGROUP WIDTH="30%"></COLGROUP>
|
| <DEL> |
Surrounding something with this command will provide a strikethrough
over what it deleted. Example:
Version <DEL>3</DEL><INS>4</INS>
Now you have a jump on what the new command INS does. You'll get to it an a
couple.
|
| <FIELDSET> |
This allows people to group controls on a page together, like grouping
buttons that affect a certain JavaScript so there won't be any interaction
between other scripts on the same page or sections of a guestbook. It works
in tandem with the LEGEND command below. An example will be waiting there.
|
| <FRAME> |
This works the same way as the FRAME command we have today except it has
been delegated new powers to denote specific traits to each frame cell. It
allows for many more abilities with
Style Sheets. The reason this is listed is that it will be a specific
subset of commands for use with SGML format styles. |
| <FRAMESET> |
Ditto this one, except this deals with larger sections of frame pages.
For instance, you have a page with four frame cells. You want only the ones
on the left to have green borders. You use this command to set aside those
two vertical frames and assign traits to just that section. The reason this
is listed is that it will be a specific subset of commands for use with SGML
format styles. |
| <IFRAME> |
This again works much the same way as the In-Line frames we currently
use. Again, the reason this is listed is that it will be a specific subset
of commands for use with SGML format styles. |
| <INS> |
You saw how this works above. It sets something aside as having been
added or "inserted" at a later time. It is denoted by an underline. |
| <LABEL> |
This command attaches a label to form commands. Example:
<FORM ACTION="--">
<LABEL for="email">Email
Address</LABEL>
<INPUT type="text" name="email_address" id="email"> |
| <LEGEND> |
Now, we get to the example denoted above from the command FIELDSET.
FIELDSET groups form items together. LEGEND denotes those sections. Example:
<FIELDSET>
<LEGEND>Personal Information</LEGEND>
Name: [Input Text Box]
EMAIL: [Input Text Box]
AGE: [Input Text Box]
</FIELDSET>
It keeps it all straight for the computer. |
| <NOFRAMES> |
This denotes text content that displays if the user does not have frame
capabilities. It's been around for a while, but now is officially being
brought into the fold. |
| <NOSCRIPT> |
Ditto above. |
| <OBJECT> |
This command will become a replacement command for IMG, ISMAP, APPLET,
SCRIPT, and myriad other "objects" that appear on the page. This one command
will represent that something is going to be placed on the page. The
computer then decides what kind of object it is due to its extension.
Example:
<OBJECT data="image.gif"
type="image/gif"></OBJECT>
~or~
<OBJECT classid="applet.class"></OBJECT>
~or~
<OBJECT data="movie.avi"
type="application/avi"></OBJECT>
|
| <OPTGROUP> |
How this will be handled is still a little fuzzy, but it appears that
this will allow for multiple groups of information inside Pull-Down menus --
much like the menus produced by the W95 "Start" button. |
| <PARAM> |
This command will be used with
applets to set
parameters. It's already in use, but is now being brought into the fold.
|
| <SPAN> |
Think of the
SPAN element in terms of it's being an equal to the <DIV> command. It
denotes a certain division of the page or span of text that can then be
altered to your heart's content. Example:
<SPAN CLASS="green">This would be green
text</SPAN>
|
| <TBODY> |
This command will surround a block of table cells so that you can affect
just that section. Keep reading... |
| <TFOOT> |
This will allow you to place a footer below each TBODY section of a
table. Notice all the commands are TR rather than TD. Here's an example for
both TBODY and TFOOT: <TABLE>
<TBODY bgcolor="--">
<TR> text
<TR> text
</TBODY>
<TFOOT><TR>The above cells...</TFOOT>
</TABLE>
|
| <THREAD> |
This is header information for a group of cells -- used exactly the same
way as the TFOOT above -- except above the group of cells are set apart by
the TBODY command. Like so: <TABLE>
<THREAD><TR> The following cells...</THREAD>
<TBODY bgcolor="--">
<TR> text
<TR> text
</TBODY>
<TFOOT><TR>The above cells...</TFOOT>
</TABLE>
|
| <Q> |
The difference between the Q command and the BLOCKQUOTE command is that
the Q command is much easier to write. Use them exactly the same way. |
| The Sub-Command |
What It Does |
| <CLASS> |
This is already in use in Explorer versions 3 and 4. First
you set up a class with Style Sheet commands. (See my tutorial on
Classes and IDs
for how to do it). Then you call for the style sheet using the class
command. Example:
<SPAN CLASS="purple">Affected text</SPAN>
|
| <DIR> |
This was touched on above in the BDO command. The DIR
sub-command denotes whether the text is to be read LTR (Left to Right) or
RTL (Right to Left). |
| <ID> |
The ID can be used in the same manner as the CLASS
sub-command above; however, in HTML 4.0 it is also being used to denote
sections of the page. In short, it acts like a
Page Jump.
Example:
<A HREF="#sectionone-id">Jump to Section
One</A>
The command above will jump to this:
<SPAN ID="sectionone">section One</SPAN>
This method is a little better than the page jump because it jumps to a
section of text rather than just to a point on the page.
|
| <LANG> |
This is clever, because it helps the search engines
understand different languages as being different languages rather than just
misspelled English. First, an Example:
<SPAN LANG="es">Hola! Como esta?</SPAN>
Those of you who remember your high school Spanish know that phrase above
loosely translates to "Hi, how ya doin'?"
Now, contrary to what you might be thinking, the LANG sub-command does
not translate. You must still write the text in the native tongue. The LANG
command just allows the search engines to recognize that section as Spanish
text.
In case you're wondering, here are some other codes: ar (Arabic), de
(German), el (Greek), fr (French), he (Hebrew), hi (Hindi), ja (Japanese),
it (Italian), nl (Dutch), pt (Portuguese), ur (Urdu), ru (Russian), sa
(Sanskrit), zh (Chinese).
Yes, there is also a code set aside if you wish to denote a language that
doesn't really exist, like Pig-Latin or Klingon. Follow the same format as
above except add x- before the name, like so: LANG="x-ubbee dubbie". The "x"
means it's an experimental language. |
| <TITLE> |
This title command works the same way as the
ALT command in an IMG command. It allows you to place a title onto just
about anything so that when the mouse remains stationary for a second, a
text box pops up. Example:
<SPAN TITLE="National Football
League">NFL</SPAN>
Now, every time someone places their mouse on that set of initials, the box
will pop up saying "National Football League." It can be very helpful.
|
(These are commands that are still good, but there are better ways of getting
the effect.)
