Where once the abbreviations HTML and XHTML were as indecipherable to the average computer user as Egyptian hieroglyphics, today the mists are slowly lifting and even the relatively uninitiated among us, having perhaps had to insert a hyperlink in a document of our own making, at least dimly recognize these expressions. Few average internet surfers could easily explain the difference between the two. Here, therefore, is a novice’s guide.
HTML (or Hyper Text Markup Language) is most usually encountered by the novice when naming a webpage. This is because the suffix ‘index.html’ is recognized by web servers. For this reason, any hyperlink in text will end with the letters: html. And that is because HTML is the language of the tags that describe web pages.
Confusing? It has to be said that a grasp of HTML is one of those pieces of knowledge that only become in the mind with use. The best way to reach that stage is by creating one or more websites of one’s own.
Most of us know that the letter ‘X’ at the start of any name has come to be synonymous with ‘latest’ or ‘advanced’. So, put simply, XHTML is a further development of html. Both use languages, XHTML’s major advantage being that it uses XML, known for its greater ease of use. This claim arises from the fact that it adheres to a more comprehensible set of syntactical rules. As a result, XHTML, while its use as such makes no difference to the end product that viewers see, is more easily taught and more easily grasped by learners.
Just a brief sample of the extra capabilities of XHTML is given here
- It enables an RSS feed to be accessed directly from your page.
- On your webpage you can offer documents optionally as printable versions.
- Tables of contents can be produced.
The last point to be made is the suggestion that you try it out for yourself.