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Charity Parks
Charity Parks

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HTML: Then & Now

"HTML
/ˌāCH ˌtē ˌem ˈel/
noun
Hypertext Markup Language, a standardized system for tagging text files to achieve font, color, graphic, and hyperlink effects on World Wide Web pages.
"an HTML file"
Definitions from Oxford Languages"

Each new version of HTML is designed to improve the prior version. To add new elements and attributes. To write new code and remove old code. What we have today with HTML5 is very different from where we started.

HTML4 was release way back in 1997. HTML4 had some elements used to present the appearance of webpages. Some of the elements used back then are not recommended to be used today. Such as, <center>, <font> and <strike>. There are better elements in todays version.

XHTML 1.0 was released in 2000. In 1998 a new language called XML was created. It would allow users to write their own markup languages. So HTML partnered with XML to form XHTML. This came with stricter rules for writing markup. Elements now needed a closing tag (example: <p> </p>). Attribute names had to be in lowercase, etc...

To help authors to move into this new syntax, other versions of XHTML were created: Strict XHTML 1.0 where you had to follow the rules exactly. Then there was Transitional XHTML 1.0 where authors could still use some of the old elements, making it more lax and to implement some of the new syntax as well.

HTML5 was released in 2008. In this current version, authors do not need closing tags on all elements. It also came with new elements and attributes. Major web browsers adopted this version. And as of 2021 we are still using HTML5!

Happy Coding!

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