HTML (HyperText Markup Language)           is a standard markup language used for developing web pages and applications. HTML combined with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and JavaScript form the foundation upon which most of the applications and websites of the world are built. In other words, HTML forms the backbone upon which the entire World Wide Web exists. It is the very first programming language using which the very foundation of the Internet was laid.

HTML is the language with which web browsers communicate with web pages and the files contained in them. Images, videos, text, layouts, etc. as seen on a web page is visually presented so through the interchange of data packets between HTML and the web browser. In other words, web developers write HTML codes to create custom web pages that are different from the rest in terms of layout, multimedia content, textual presentation and so on.

Becoming a HTML web designer

Although there are no prerequisites to becoming a HTML web designer, however, basic understanding of the Internet and how various web applications function are essential. There are separate desktop and mobile environments where a beginner can practice HTML programming. Alternatively, there are also online coding programs like Thimble or JSBIn where HTML coding can be learnt with the help of live code examples.

HTML 4.01

The first version of HTML was published in 1995. HTML 4.01 is a major upgrade from erstwhile 3.2. HTML 4.01 was released in 1999 with three variations: strict, Frameset and Transitional. HTML 4.01 was released under the codename ‘Cougar’. It took away most of the markup features for Netscape and instead added several browser-specific attributes.

New features introduced in HTML 4.01

Multi-lingual compatibility

HTML 4 adopted Universal Character Set as its default character set which extended its ability to become compatible with almost every used language in the world. Attributes lang and dir were also included which enabled web developers to specify the language and the direction in which it is to be presented.

Style Sheets

Style information for specific elements can be attached using id, class and style attributes. Style sheet language and target media can also be specified using style elements.

Frames

HTML 4.01 comes with Frames, a productive feature that will enable developers to split a window into multiple frames and assigning different document to each window.

Advanced tables

HTML 4.01 will come with row and column groups that will allow visual browsers to render scrollable body rows with static header and footer rows.

Client-side scripting

Several new events are introduced in HTML 4.01 to enable execution of scripts on user actions like clicking, key press, mouse hover, change of values, etc. The client-side scripting will also include attributes for embedding external scripts, specifying scripting language, deferring script execution and so on.

Advanced Tables

From the simple table model in HTML 3.2, HTML 4.0 has advanced to table models that has elaborate row and column groups. Advanced tables will allow scrollable body rows with static headers and footer rows. This will make large tables in web pages easily readable and navigable than in HTML 3.2.