During programming tasks, it is often necessary to display output, error messages, or code snippets to users on a web page. To address this requirement, HTML provides various tags tailored for user input, code, programs, and more. By utilizing these tags, you can effectively present code for showcasing on your webpage.
Following is a list of some tags that are used in HTML for this task:
- <code>
- <kbd>
- <samp>
- <var>
- <pre>
- <mark>
- <blockquote>
HTML <code> element
This is utilized to display programming code within a website. Any text enclosed within the <code> tags will appear in the standard monospaced font.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>Computer Code</h2>
<p>This is a programming code:</p>
<code>
x = 5;<br>
y = 6;<br>
z = x + y;
</code>
</body>
</html>
Output:
Computer Code
This is a programming code:
x = 5;
y = 6;
z = x + y;
Explanation
The enclosed text is made to read in the default monospace typeface of the browser by the <code> element. The use of the <br> tags is needed to split lines since the line breaks of the <code itself are not preserved.
HTML <kbd> Element
It is commonly used to represent user input, particularly keyboard input. The content within <|human|>Tags displayed in a kbd element appears in regular text format, typically based on the default monospaced font of the web browser.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>The kbd Element</h2>
<kbd>This is how content written within the kbd element looks.</kbd></p>
</body>
</html>
Output:
The kbd Element
This is how content written within the kbd element looks.
Explanation
The <kbd> element is used to represent keyboard input on a webpage. Browsers usually display this element in a monospaced font to distinguish it from regular text.
HTML <samp> Element
The element represents the result of a software or computer system. Content enclosed in <samp> typically displays using the default fixed-width font of the web browser.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>The samp Element</h2>
<samp>This is how the content within samp element looks like. </samp>
</body>
</html>
Output:
The samp Element
This is how the content within the samp element looks.
Explanation
The element <samp> signifies output of a program or system. Similar to <code> and <kbd>, the text is written in a monospace font, and as such, it appears visually distinct from normal text.
HTML <var> element
The HTML <var> element is utilized to specify a variable, which can represent a value in a mathematical equation or a programming scenario.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>The var Element</h2>
<p>This is a famous formula: <var>E</var> = <var>mc</var><sup>2</sup>.</p>
</body>
</html>
Output:
The var Element
This is a famous formula: E = mc2.
Explanation
The <var> tag represents a variable within the document. By default, the CSS styles applied to this tag render the variable text in italics to distinguish it from regular text.
HTML <pre> element
The <pre> tag is used to display text in a fixed-width font, maintaining spaces, line breaks, and tabs as they appear in the HTML source. This tag is particularly useful for showcasing code snippets or structured text.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h3>Example of pre tag</h3>
<pre>
This content is written
within the pre tag, and the pre tag will ignore all
spaces, lines break, and will display the content
as in the original format.
</pre>
</body>
</html>
Output:
Example of pre tag
This content is written
within the pre tag, and the pre tag will ignore all
spaces, lines break, and will display the content
as in the original format.
Explanation
The pre tag maintains the formatting of spaces, tabs, and line breaks exactly as they appear in the HTML source code. It is typically used to display a segment of code or organized text.
HTML <mark> element
Highlighting text of particular significance is achieved by making use of the <mark> tag, which typically displays the highlighted text with a distinct color, often a shade of yellow, to create emphasis.
HTML <mark> element
Long quotations are presented with the help of the <blockquote element; it is particularly handy in documenting or referencing error logs and code.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>Computer Code</h2>
<p>This is a programming code:</p>
<code>
x = 5;<br>
y = 6;<br>
z = x + y;
</code>
</body>
</html>
Output:
Computer Code
This is a programming code:
x = 5;
y = 6;
z = x + y;
Explanation
The blockquote content is typically indented by browsers and made distinct. Although it is not monospace by default, it is a clean method to divide longer code outputs, logs, or references.
Conclusion
There are numerous elements in HTML to present code, user input, program output, variables, and formatted text in a straightforward and sensible manner. Essential elements are used to structure technical content, such as the use of tags like <code>, <kbd>, or <samp> and <var>, and pre, as well as helping to accentuate or organise information (the use of tags such as mark and blockquote ).
Utilize these components effectively not only to improve readability but also to ensure that documentation, tutorials, and web pages containing code maintain a professional appearance and are more user-friendly.