In this article, I'll teach you how to identify a tag. It's very important when we use CSS or JavaScript.
Three Forms of Identification
An element or tag (opening) can be identified in three ways:
- Using an ID (identifier);
- Using a class;
- Using the tag name;
Using an ID
ID is an attribute that can be put in a tag, but you must use it just to identify unique elements and "never" use it in CSS selector. An ID is unique; there is not a two equals ID in the same page, because ID is like your CPF (a Brazilian person identifier). ID is very useful when you need to access the element by JavaScript.
Example:
<main id="content">
...
</main>
Using a Class
Class is an attribute that can be put in a tag, and we encourage you to use class in almost tags that will need styling with CSS. A class is the same thing that class in real life; you belong to student class, human class, developer class, etc. It's possible an element has ID and Class at the same time. Because each one is for a different purpose.
Example:
<main class="content">
...
</main>
Using a Tag Name
It's possible to access a tag using your tag name, whether CSS or JavaScript, but I don't recommend using this form in JS, and I recommend using it in CSS just to style an element in general, never a specified element.
Complete Initial Code
After this text, below, I show you a complete initial code for your HTML5 codes.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<!-- External files (CSS, JS) and metadata -->
</head>
<body>
<!-- Prefer class than ID if you use it in CSS; ID is only for JS -->
<header class="header" id="header">
page header
</header>
<nav class="nav">
menu
</nav>
<main class="content">
<!-- Only one per page/document -->
Main content
<article>
internal article
<header>header of this article</header>
<section id="introduction">
</section>
<section id="content">
</section>
<section id="summary">
</section>
<!-- It's possible there are articles inside sections or vice-versa; see stackoverflow link -->
</article>
</main>
<section id="comments">
</section>
<footer class="footer">
</footer>
</body>
</html>
I'll explain each line of the provided HTML code:
-
<!DOCTYPE html>: This is the document type declaration, specifying that the document is an HTML5 document. -
<html>: This is the opening<html>tag, indicating the start of the HTML document. -
<head>: The<head>element contains meta-information about the document, such as links to external files (CSS and JavaScript) and metadata (like the document's title). -
<!-- External files (CSS, JS) and metadata -->: This is an HTML comment, providing a note to anyone reading the code but doesn't affect the rendering of the page. It suggests that the<head>section is typically where you include links to external CSS and JavaScript files and specify metadata. -
<body>: The<body>element is where the visible content of the web page goes. -
<!-- Prefer using classes for styling; IDs are primarily for JavaScript -->: Another HTML comment, giving guidance on using classes for styling elements and reserving IDs primarily for JavaScript interactions. -
<header class="header" id="header">: This line defines a header element (<header>) with both aclassand anidattribute. Theclassattribute is set to "header," which can be used for styling with CSS. Theidattribute is also set to "header," which uniquely identifies this element on the page. -
Page header: Within the<header>element, "Page header" is the visible content that will be displayed as the header of the page. -
<nav class="nav">: This line defines a navigation element (<nav>) with aclassattribute set to "nav," indicating it's a navigation menu. -
Menu: Inside the<nav>element, "Menu" is the visible content for the navigation menu. -
<main class="content">: Here, a<main>element is defined with aclassattribute set to "content." The<main>element typically contains the main content of the web page. -
Main content: Within the<main>element, "Main content" is the visible content indicating the primary content of the page. -
<article>: The<article>element is used to represent a self-contained piece of content, such as a blog post, article, or news story. -
Internal article: Within the<article>element, "Internal article" represents the title or heading of the article. -
<header>Header of this article</header>: This line defines another<header>element within the<article>, containing the header or title of the article. -
<section id="introduction">: This line defines a<section>element with anidattribute set to "introduction," which can be used to target and style this section specifically. -
<section id="content">: Similar to the previous line, this one defines another<section>element with anidattribute set to "content." -
<section id="summary">: Yet another<section>element is defined with anidattribute set to "summary." -
<!-- It's possible to have articles inside sections or vice-versa; see the stackoverflow link -->: This is another HTML comment, providing a note about the possibility of nesting articles inside sections or vice versa. It also references a Stack Overflow link for further information. -
</article>: This marks the end of the<article>element, closing it. -
<section id="comments">: This line defines a<section>element with anidattribute set to "comments," likely indicating a section where comments or discussions would go. -
</section>: This closes the<section>element for comments. -
<footer class="footer">: Here, a<footer>element is defined with aclassattribute set to "footer," suggesting it's the footer section of the page. -
</footer>: This closes the<footer>element. -
</body>: This marks the end of the<body>element. -
</html>: This is the closing</html>tag, indicating the end of the HTML document.
Each line in this HTML code contributes to the structure and content of a web page. The comments provide additional information and guidance for understanding the code.
What Lies Ahead
In upcoming articles, you will delve into:
- figures
- images
- ordered and unordered lists
- definition lists
- details
- tables
Stay tuned!
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