HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. Unlike programming languages, markup languages focus on controlling the appearance of elements on a webpage, while programming languages are used for manipulating data.
HTML is an uncomplicated format that relies on text and is easily grasped by beginners. Let's take a look at an example:
<html>
<head>
<title>title of the page </title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Main heading</h1>
<p>Our content</p>
</body>
</html>
HTML is often praised for its advantages, such as its platform-independence (operates on various OS like Windows, Linux, etc.), ease of learning, and lack of need for setup or installations. All that's needed is to save the file with the .html extension and launch it in a browser.
While HTML serves a variety of functions beyond webpage development, it is commonly associated with this particular task. This post explored the diverse applications of HTML, the advanced features introduced by HTML5 to support modern online advancements, and a compilation of practical scenarios where HTML can be utilized.
Introduction of HTML Uses
Creating an application or webpage is possible by utilizing the markup language HTML. HTML is widely recognized as a fundamental tool in web development, especially when combined with JavaScript and CSS. One of HTML's key strengths is its capability to integrate scripts from languages such as JavaScript, enabling the manipulation of web page behavior and content. Additionally, the inclusion of CSS would lead to a transformation in the layout and visual presentation of the content.
HTML elements serve as the essential foundation of each HTML webpage. By utilizing structural-semantic language, like headings, paragraphs, lists, hyperlinks, and additional components, we can create a well-organized document. Even if not visible, web browsers interpret the content of a page through HTML tags. Familiarizing oneself with various tags is crucial before understanding their functionalities.
HTML serves as a crucial tool for web developers to construct websites, explore the internet, and perform various tasks. In this discussion, we will focus on the primary applications of HTML.
Top 10 Real-World Applications for HTML
Various use cases exist for HTML; however, we will narrow down our focus to several important ones.
1. Creating web pages
Many websites that we frequently access on the internet are created using HTML code. HTML is essential for organizing the layout of a webpage in different manners, as previously explained. It enables us to segment the webpage, incorporate tables, and integrate additional components.
HTML5 introduced semantic elements to enhance developers' understanding and management of their code. These elements enable the styling of various types of web pages like landing pages, parallax pages, and grid-based websites. Utilizing CSS and JavaScript facilitates the styling and manipulation of HTML elements in a more efficient and straightforward manner.
2. Internet navigating
HTML plays a vital role in facilitating the transition between webpages online. The concept of hypertext enables seamless navigation, making it effortless to move from one page to another. For users, simply clicking on a text can propel them to the next page, demonstrating the convenience and efficiency of HTML's anchor tags for creating hyperlinks.
Enhanced website traffic can be linked to effective navigation, which plays a crucial role in increasing user engagement on the site. Analyzing the layout and organization of content is also advantageous for online visitors.
3. Flexible designs
Interactivity and user responsiveness are crucial elements for a web page to operate effectively, a feature achievable through the utilization of HTML. By incorporating responsive web design techniques, which differ from static approaches, a website can cater to a broader range of users. Responsive web design involves the integration of HTML and CSS to adaptively adjust, hide, shrink, or expand webpage elements, ensuring optimal display across various devices such as personal computers, tablets, and smartphones.
The <meta> element plays a crucial role in ensuring the responsiveness of a website across all pages. Another method to achieve responsiveness is by employing the CSS width property to adjust images accordingly. Furthermore, text elements can be made responsive by specifying their size using the "VW" unit, representing the viewport width.
4. Data entry support
Apart from the various aspects discussed earlier, it is essential to highlight the significance of data input functionality. Traditionally, data has been stored in specialized files for this specific purpose. Enabling data input through online platforms, or collecting user information through forms, is facilitated by the utilization of HTML5.
In this scenario, we encounter HTML elements such as <form>. Additional elements consist of input types like text fields, dropdown menus, lists, password fields, and more. HTML facilitates the input of data in a straightforward and effective manner, allowing for validations to be implemented using Javascript.
5. The browser's storage functionality
Saving data in the browser was once a complex task that required setting up cookies or server-side infrastructure to store persistent data between sessions. However, HTML5 has introduced new features that simplify this process. LocalStorage and IndexDB are two examples of storage functionalities available in HTML5.
Window.localStorage and Window.sessionStorage are web storage objects that save data without a time limit and for one session. The data will still be preserved in the localStorage object even when the browser is closed. The methods setItem and removeItem are frequently used to add and remove data from storage. The most crucial aspect is these characteristics are available on all browsers.
- To Store: setItem("username", "Amar");
- To Retrieve: getElementById("result").innerHTML = localStorage.getItem("username");
- To Remove: removeItem("username");
6. Create web documents
HTML is predominantly utilized on the web for crafting digital documents. Websites are built leveraging the DOM (Document Object Model). Moreover, the content structure is defined through HTML components. The initiation of <!DOCTYPE html> signifies the commencement of an HTML web document, followed by the conventional opening and closing HTML tags. The HTML DOM model is constructed as a hierarchy of objects.
The main element in HTML comprises two sections: the head and the body, serving as the foundation. Within the Head section, you can locate the title of the webpage or document. The Body section is where various elements such as headers, paragraphs, line breaks, and anchors are utilized to create content. Attributes defining these elements are positioned lower in the hierarchy.
As an example, the anchor tag contains the attribute 'href'.
7. Development of games
It is evident that online gaming has captured the interest of a wide range of individuals, spanning from youngsters to adults. Exploring the mechanics of game development using HTML sheds light on this phenomenon. Historically, games were tailored for platforms such as Flash; however, HTML5 offers a plethora of features and options for game development. For beginners, HTML elements like Canvas serve as an excellent entry point due to their comprehensive set of tools essential for game creation.
To create a canvas:
<canvas id="canvas" width="400" height="200"> </canvas>
8. Offline web apps
While browsing websites typically necessitates internet connectivity, contemporary web applications can function offline. HTML enables users to access data by referencing a cache manifest file to determine which data to retain when offline.
If you are outside your Internet service provider's coverage area while traveling, it is likely that your connection is no longer available. In such cases, users can provide a manifest that contains a list of necessary files for a web application to work without an internet connection. This way, the browser stores a copy of these files for offline use.
9. Cutting-edge feature
In the realm of technology, innovative advancements are often described as cutting-edge. One prime example of this is the transformative impact that HTML5 has had on the field of web development. Features such as dynamic HTML headers, integratable infographics, visually appealing CSS-based artwork, interactive call-to-action elements triggered by scrolling, user badges, and various other contemporary design trends exemplify what is considered cutting-edge in the world of web design.
The latest HTML specifications and APIs are highly compatible with the Google Chrome browser, facilitating the dynamic downloading of required libraries as per demand.
10. Enhance the website
Using native APIs in combination with HTML can elevate the functionality of a website. In addition to the extensive enhancements brought by HTML5, a range of unexpected tools and capabilities have been introduced. APIs such as visibility, full screen, and media capture can boost the usability of applications.
The use of APIs allows us to execute tasks in the background without being disrupted by other UI scripts and without compromising the speed of the page. These APIs are mainly utilized for creating distinctive controls and functionalities.
Conclusion
The previous section extensively covered the various applications of HTML beyond its conventional use in web development. With the widespread availability of internet-connected devices, accessing essential data has become achievable for nearly everyone.
It has been revealed that HTML empowers the development of games, data storage, offline web applications, enhanced websites, data input mechanisms, web content creation, flexible layouts, navigation features, and various other functionalities.