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Learn Documenting / Reference - HTML

HTML files are text files with embedded formatting markup text. HTML is the format that web browsers understand when formatting content files into nice-looking web pages.

HTML Overview

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Benefits of HTML

  1. HTML files are text files and can be edited with a text editor.
  2. HTML files can be used to construct formatted, navigable documents, with embedded multi-media.
  3. HTML can be viewed in a web browser - actually that is the main way to view HTML files. If content exist in HTML, there is no need to convert it to another format.
  4. HTML files can be viewed in a web browser locally and after they are copied to a web server.
  5. Versions of HTML files can be easily tracked in a version control system such as Git. Differences between versions can be easily pinpointed, compared to binary files such as Word and PDF that are essentially "blobs" of encoded text.
  6. Because HTML is an open standard, there are many open source and commercial software tools.

Limitations of HTML

  1. Formatting HTML beyond default/simple formatting can be complex, involving cascading style sheets (CSS). Although anything is possible, being proficient at HTML and CSS within the limitations of web pages can be frustrating.
  2. People may not be familiar with HTML or related software tools.
  3. Although HTML files can be emailed, they are better suited for online collaborative platforms. This limitation may not be as much of a factor in circles where people are comfortable with HTML.

When to Use HTML

The following are recommendations for when to use HTML:

  1. If the overall environment favors HTML, such as full web pages.
  2. When creating navigable, interactive static websites such as navigable datasets.
  3. When HTML can be created from another format such as Word or Markdown.

When Not to Use HTML

  1. When a traditional Word/PDF document is preferred.
  2. When navigable linked documents are not required.
  3. HTML for documents is best suited for tools that automate creating HTML from another format, such as Word or Markdown - don't create HTML manually in this case.

HTML Tools

  • Editors:
    • Any text editor.
  • Viewer:
    • Any web browser.