Hypertext mark-up language
HTML is the code used in the majority of web pages.
"Mark-up"
originates from the publishing trade, when
a page needed to be defined, the plate was marked. "Hypertext" is the description, coined in the 1990's, to
describe textural or pictorial content that when clicked-on with a mouse pointer, would make the
computer load another page.
It is possible to create the same visual effects in HTML using very different coding and it is this flexibility
that is proving very powerful on the Web. It is also this ability that allows poor coding practices
to be used. Clean HTML code produces better results and is easier to maintain and like with any language, it is easier
to read.
The latest set of standards produced by W3C called HTML5 will encourage methodical coding as most of the tools to
create good mark-up have been provided for.