0-9

1.1: The last recommended version of XHTML , released 2001.
2.0: The long-anticipated next version of XHTML . "Working drafts" have been released in Aug 02, Dec 02, Jan 03, May 03, Jul 04, May 05, and July 06.
4.01: The last recommended version of HTML , "finished" in 1999.
404: The "file not found" error sent from a Web server.
5: The next version of HTML. Targeted for a 2014 release, but already in wide-spread use.

A

absolute (reference): ACCORDING TO THE AUTHOR OF OUR TEXT:
one of three ways to refer to a resource, the absolute reference (as defined by the text) always begins with a / so the resource is called from the root of the present drive, on the present host.
Examples:
/sandrews/cop2822/
/www_root/
/home/jjackson/mypage.html
/cgi-bin/mycgi.pl

Note that most authorities call this a "root-relative reference. "; ACCORDING TO ALMOST EVERYONE ELSE:
a reference that begins with http:// so it can be found from any location on the Internet.
attribute: A definition of a property of an element. See Diagram B.

B

backslash: \; 1. Used to escape the character that follows. Compare to slash.; 2. WINDOWS COMPUTERS ONLY: Used to separate folder names in DOS or Windows.
BLE, ble: (abbreviation used in this class only)
block-level element (See.)
block-level element: An element normally displayed as a block--a rectangle that reserves the entire width of a browser window. Examples include paragraphs (p/p), headings (h1/h1, or h4/h4), or list elements (li/li). With notable exceptions, no block-level element can contain another block-level element. Compare to inline element.
body: The visible portion of a Web page. The part of a Web document displayed in the main pane of the browser window. All content resides within the body. Compare to head.

C

Cascading Style Sheets: A technology developed to allow HTML to follow its stated mission: to denote what an element IS, rather than how it looks.
character entity: a "special" character, created by sandwiching a hexadecimal numeral or a short "code name" between & and ;
Here are two examples:
é displays as é . < displays as <
class (class=): One of the four core attributes, class= allows an element to belong to one or more groups of elements that share formatting or other characteristics.
client: A program that requests information from a Server.
Client-Server: An architecture that found its pinnacle on the Internet, client-server technology is a design concept that allows two computers to share a task, relegating part of the job to a requesting computer (the "client") and designating the rest to a responding computer (the "server"). When browsing the Web, we our Web browser software acts as a client, requesting information from another computer on the Internet. If the other computer is running Web server software, it responds by gathering the required parts of the requested resource and sending them to the client. It is the client's responsibility to receive (and acknowledge receipt of) the resource and to "render" it for the computer user.
comment: a non-standard tag in HTML, beginning with the FOUR characters 
In general, everything between  is ignored by the browser.
container element: An element that's meant to contain content or other tags. Occasionally known by the much-hated term, "two-sided" tag. The large majority of HTML elements are containers, such as <p></p> or <body></body>. Compare to empty element.
content: The information presented in a Web page. Web pages consist of content (the information presented) and markup (tags, etc. that define the elements of a page).
core attribute: (pre HTML5) One of four attributes designed to be applied to almost any start tag.
The four core attributes are id, style, class, and title.
CSS: See Cascading Style Sheets.

D

default file: The file a Web Server sends when the requested resource is a folder. The default file is chosen by its filename. Popular filenames for default files include index.html (on most Unix servers) and default.htm (on most Windows servers).
deprecated: The term applied to any element, attribute, or value that has been marked for deletion from the language. According to the w3c, future versions of XHTML will not include elements that have been deprecated.
directory: The original name for a folder. This term is still in use by old-timers like me, and on most Unix systems.

E

element: Everything from the an opening tag to its closing mate, inclusive.
See Diagram A.
Note: in most situations, a tag and an element are NOT the same thing.
Exception: an empty tag IS identical to its element.
empty tag, empty element: One of 11 or 12 tags that have no closing mate. Also known as a "one-sided element", "standalone element", or "void element". Examples are <br />, <img />, and <hr />. Note the trailing slash and the space that precedes it.
escape: To alter the meaning or effect of a select group of characters, normally by prepending a backslash.

F

FF, ff: Firefox: a Web browser quickly growing in popoularity
FTP: File Transfer Protocol.
folder: The Windows/MacIntosh name for a directory: a specialized type of computer file, designed to hold other files. As with a physical file folder, a computer folder can hold files and other folders.

G

Google: The only company, at present, that might be capable of wresting World Domination from Microsoft. ;-)

H

head: The portion of a Web page designed, not for visitors, but for agents (search engines, servers, browsers). Compare to body.
HTML: Hypertext Markup Language. The base language for presenting content on the World Wide Web. Note that HTML is a markup language, and not a programming language.
HTTP: Hypretext Transfer Protocol. The protocol, or "language", used to communicate between Web Servers and Web Clients.

I

id (id=): One of the four core attributes, id= provides a unique identification for an element, making it easier for CSS and assorted scripts to target and affect that element. An id can't be repeated within the same document, must begin with a letter, and can't contain a space.
IE: Internet Explorer
IE6: Internet Explorer, version 6 (outdated)
IE7: Internet Explorer, version 7 (the current version)
ILE, ile: (abbreviation used in this class only)
inline element (See.)
inline element: An element that contains letters, words, or other inline elements. Examples inlude span/span, b/b, or img/. An inline element MUST reside within one inline element or another, and cannot contain any block-level element. Also known, in HTML5, as a text-level element.
index file: One of several default files that a Web Server might send when the requested resource is a folder.

J

JavaScript: One of several scripting languages created for use with HTML.

K

.: .

L

.: .

M

markup: The "code" of HTML. HTML tags, which guide the browser in laying out (rendering) a page. HTML consists of two parts: content, the information to be conveyed; and markup, the instructions on how to convey it. Almost all markup is in the form of HTML tags.
markup language.: A less-than-complex computer language designed to allow the writer to impart structure, and sometimes layout, information to text. Compare to programming language.
mouse cursor: An icon, often shaped like an arrow, that allows a computer user to "point" to locations on the computer monitor, and to place the screen cursor. Compare to screen cursor.

N

nesting: the practice of housing one element inside another; this practice depends on closing each element in the proper order.

O

one-sided tag, one-sided element: See Empty Tag.

P Q

page: Web page. The rendered image of an HTML document. Compare to Web site.
pixel: picture element: a "dot" on a computer monitor. An indivisible area of a computer screen. Most modern computer monitors are comprised of at least 786,432 (1024 columns x 768 rows of) pixels.
programming language: A complex computer language designed to allow the writer to control the behavior of one or more computers. Modern programming languages contain constructs to allow for execution by case: Is it before or after 12? Is this the thousandth iteration? Has the user pressed the Q key yet? This decision-making capability is missing from markup languages.
publish: (as defined within this course) To place a resource on the class Web server in such a way that anyone with Web access can stumble onto it.

R

recommendation: The "final" publication of a specification from the W3C.
reference: a way to call a resource.
There are three types of reference: relative, absolute, and universal.
resource: Any file that can be retrieved from the Internet via a Web browser. Resources include Web pages, images, database records, etc.
relative (reference): One of three ways to refer to a resource, a relative reference begins with . or .. or the name of a file or folder, so the resource is called from the same location as the present page.
render: To convert HTML elements into the visual result of those elements. The main job of a browser is to render an HTML file into a page.
root-relative (reference): One of three ways to refer to a resource, a root-relative reference begins with http:// so the resource is called from any location on the Internet.
rule: 1. A horizontal line on a page that serves to separate blocks of text; 2. See Style Rule.

S

screen cursor

Also "insertion point". The intended destination of input from a keyboard. Compare to mouse cursor.

scripting language

a programming language characterized by several features:

high-level language
run-time (or "interpreted"), rather than compiled
can be either a client-side language or a server-side language.
use simple data structures (strings, arrays, etc.) and generally do not allow for user-created data structures

server

1. A software application that serves requests from appropriate clients.
By far, the most-used server applications in use today are WWW servers, which send resources, on demand, to Web clients (browsers).

2. (by extension, popular usage, laziness, and apathy) the host on which a server resides.

(Note that, stricly speaking, a server is not a computer. It's a softare application housed (hosted) on the the computer.)

sig, signature

1. In HTML files, an  that contains your name, the date, and the purpose of the page.
2. In CSS and JavaScript files, a /* comment */ that contains your name, the date, and the purpose of the file.

slash /

1. Used to designate folder names on a Web server. Compare to backslash.

2. Used at the beginning of a closing tag to mark it as such.

3. Used at the end of an empty element to make the tag "self-closing".

standalone tag, standalone element

See Empty Tag

style (style=)

One of the four core attributes, style= allows the formatting, via CSS, of any element of the body of a Web page.

style declaration

a single CSS property and CSS value, separated by a colon, and ending with a semicolon. See Diagram C.

style definition

Also "declaration block". See Diagram C.

style rule

A CSS definition, including a selector one or more declarations. See Diagram C.

superblock

Either of two HTML elements that are meant to contain block-level elements. The superblock elements are <div></div> and <blockquote></blockquote>

T

tag: A device in HTML that marks the beginning or end of an element. The "code" that allows a browser to render a Web page. HTML uses < and > marks to denote a tag: <body>
text-level element: An element that contains letters, words, or other inline elements. Examples inlude span/span, b/b, or img/. An inline element MUST reside within one inline element or another, and cannot contain any block-level element. Also known as an inline element.
TLE, tle: (abbreviation used in this class only)
text-level element (See.)
title (title=): One of the four core attributes, title= creates a "tooltip" or popup that contains the value of title=. Here is an example of title= in practice. Allow your mouse cursor to hover over the content of the next sentence to see the result:
<span title="See what I mean?">Hover here.</span>
two-sided tag, two-sided element.: See Container Tag

U

universal (reference): My name for a truly absolute reference, a universal reference always begins with http:// so the resource is called from the Internet.
known by most authorities as a root-relative reference
URI: Uniform Resource Indicator. Includes URLs and URNs.
URL: Uniform (not universal!) Resource Locator
URN: Uniform Resource Name

V

value: The "answer" to the question posed by an attribute. See diagram B.
void tag, void element: See empty tag.

W

W3C: The World Wide Web Consortium. The international agency responsible for the growth and development of Web based languages such as HTML, XHTML, CSS, etc.
Web, WWW: the World Wide Web, an application (a set of programs: clients and servers) that run on the Internet.
Web browser: A program that requests, receives, and normally renders, resources on the World Wide Web
Web client: Web Browser
Web server: SOFTWARE that resides on a host on the World Wide Web and responds to requests from Web clients (browsers).
Windows Explorer: NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT THE INTERNET EXPLORER. This program helps you find and manipulate files and folders on YOUR computer—not on the Internet.

X Y Z

XC: (an abbreviation used in this class only)
Extra Credit (just a Steve thing--has nothing to do with HTML)
XHTML: eXtensible HTML.

Diagrams, etc.

Maybe some of this stuff will make more sense if presented visually?

Diagram A: HTML content, tags, and elements

<p>	This is a paragraph.	</p>	<br />
opening tag	content	closing tag	tag
element			element
			(no content)

Diagram B: tag, attribute, value:

firstCar

tag name,
element name

attribute name

attribute value

attribute

tag

content

tag

Diagram C: CSS syntax, example, terms, and punctuation:

selector

{

property

value

;

property

value

;

property

value

;

}

{

color

blue

;

background-color

yellow

;

border

dashed

;

}

declaration

"declaration block" or definition*

rule**

{	opens the definition
:	separates a property from its value
;	separates declarations
}	closes the definition

*Note that Woods|Dorin call this a "declaration".
**Note that Woods|Dorin call this a "statement".