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- XML, XHTML, CSS
EnderTech uses XML, XHTML, and CSS to create dynamic, stylish websites for our clients!
HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. Many consider HTML to not be a programming language but a markup language. Either way HTML is used as the basic building-blocks of web sites. HTML consists of tags usually in pairs with an opening tag and a closing tag . A basic HTML document is comprised of the following tags html, head, body; all of which have closing tags. The basic structure looks like the following:
<html>
<head></head>
<body></body>
</html>
The head contains information about the document such as the title and keywords. The body contains the actual content of the document; what the user sees as the website. Once HTML documents are created it’s the web browsers job to interpret those documents and display them to the user.
XML came into play after HTML. Unlike HTML, XML is a strict markup language. XML is primarily used as a tool for creating other markup languages that create the needed content. XML was designed to carry data, not to display data where as HTML is used to display data.
After XML was created W3C (http://www.w3.org/) , the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web, created XHTML. XHTML is an application of XML which extends HTML by allowing the user to define and add new elements and attributes to already existing elements and attributes. XHTML also requires strict adherence to certain coding rules like that of XML. These coding rules allow for well-formed and proper syntax of html code. XHTML is basically a refreshed version of HTML that is valid XML code.
A major difference between HTML and XHTML is the fact that XHTML dropped the use of pseudo-style tags and adopted the use of CSS or Cascading Style Sheets. The use of CSS allows the programmer to separate the document content from the document presentation. It also allows the programmer to produce elaborate layouts while at the same time keeping the document organized.
The topics mentioned above all relate in some way. HTML and XHTML are both used to visually represent data, XML stores data, and CSS defines how to display the data. One major essential thing to remember is that while markup language and CSS can be easy to use it can can be difficult to maintain. The programmer should be mindful of the way markup and CSS is structured to provide optimal readability and ease of maintenance. A programmer can be easily overwhelmed by poorly formatted code which can decrease efficiency. Properly formatting code can initially take additional time to structure but can save the programmer valuable time in the long run. Adding PHP or Hypertext Preprocessor, which is a server-side scripting language for creating dynamic web pages, into the mix increases the importance of well formatted code.
Here at EnderTech we use all of the languages mentioned to create dynamic and stylish websites for our clients with various tools. Proper tools are essential in creating well-structured web documents. One tool that's essential in all web developers tool sets is the “developer's tool.” Most web browsers have a developer's tool to use; for FireFox it's called Firebug (http://getfirebug.com/) and it allows the user to debug certain aspects of web development like Javascript and CSS.
Being an effective web developer also requires the developer to use whatever resources are available in order to come up with solutions. A great resource to start with is w3school.com (http://www.w3schools.com). They provide a great amount of information and tutorials if you're just starting out on various topics of web development. Also, searching other websites is essential and can definitely pull the programmer out of a bind. It's a good idea to bookmark resources and even compile a list of notes, snippets, and other important documents you will use or have used in the past. There's a vast amount of information to memorize in the world of web development and so keeping track of your resources can and will save you from a headache.
