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Webpage Design and Development, CPST-2400-10
with HTML5 and CSS3
Spring 2019

Strategy for editing HTML5
see also HTML 5 Template
see also Browsers need Help with HTML5

strategy
strategy (as in "scheme") n. : an elaborate and systematic plan of action



Editing web pages requires a not so elaborate, but very systematic plan. Below is the strategy I use when editing Web Pages.
  1. Open an existing web page with your Text Editor. Even if I'm starting a new page ... using an existing page similar to my new page will mean I won't have to type everything from scratch. For example, you could start with this page ... or ... you could copy the HTML included on the template.html page.
  2. Save As ... -- if its a new page, give it a new name
  3. Make small changes
  4. Save
  5. Open page in a WebBrowser What is a WebBrowser? ... yes, you can use your Browser to open a web page on your own computer. Does it look right?
  6. Back to your Text Editor, make small changes.
  7. Save.
  8. Back to your Browser, Refresh (or Reload) your page. Does it look right?
  9. Use W3C Markup Validation Service to verify that your HTML coding is correct.
  10. Repeat steps 6, 7, 8 and 9 ... until done
  11.   
  12. Copy (FTP) your WebPages to Tulane's CPST WebServer
  13. Use your WebSite URL to view your pages on CPST WebServer. These are the pages that will determine your grade.
  14. Don't wait until you are finished before using CPST WebServer. Remember, these are the pages that will determine your grade.
  15. The only way to be sure your WebPages look like you expect them to look, is to use your WebBrowser to view them on the CPST WebServer. In other words, use the URL of your WebSite to browse to your pages on CPST WebServer, just like the whole world will browse to your WebPages.

The BEST advice in the above strategy is to "make small changes." When you make lots of changes, then view the page in your Browser, and check it using W3C Markup Validation Service ... if things don't go as you expect, it may be difficult to find what you did wrong. Make small changes.



Comments (Documentation or Decoration)

Top of every webpage will look something like this:

<!DOCTYPE html>

<!-- 
HTML and CSS 6th Edition: Comprehensive
Author:
Date:
Text Editor: 
Filename: something_or_the_other.html 
-->

<html lang="en">

<head>
      <title>some_sort_of_name_or_the_other</title>
      <meta charset="utf-8" />

      <!-- java script that supports HTML5 for Browsers that do not -->
      <script src="http://www.tulane.edu/~gnorth/modernizr.js"></script>

      <!--  link(s) to a external style sheet(s) go here -->
      <link href="name_of_some_stylesheet.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
</head>


Please note that it is important that the very first line of your HTML be the <!DOCTYPE ... declaration, as demonstrated above. W3C Markup Validation Service will NOT work properly if <!DOCTYPE ... declaration is not the first line. For an explanation of doctype declarations see this website ... and this one too. You may also want an understanding of <meta charset="utf-8" />, so look here and here, and Wikipedia too.

Here is a link to a good example of Documenting your HTML

Here is a link to a good example of Documenting your External Style Sheets



In-line comments included in your HTML, this is also called documentation, or decoration. When I ask you to decorate your HMTL, I am asking that you include in-line comments. Comments remind you what your HTML code is supposed to accomplish. Comments allow others to more easily understand your HTML. Most importantly for our class, comments make it possible for George to grade your work. The grading rubric for most every assignment will require you to include in-line comments that document the graded item of the assignment.

HTML with in-line comments should look similare to the sample HTML below. This is an example of how the above paragraph was styled. You can compare them, starting at the Horizontal Rule ...


<!-- Making a Horizontal Rule (Presentational Attribute), textbook p.51 (near Figure 1-41) -->
<hr />

<!-- a Paragraph (Grouping Element), textbook p.26 (near Figure 1-13) -->
<!-- use strong to bold text (Text Level Element), textbook p.45 (near Figure 1-35) -->
<!-- use span to apply text formating (in this case 'font-size' 50% bigger ) -->

<p>
<span style="font-size: 150%"><strong>In-line comments</strong></span> included in your HTML, this is also called documentation, or decoration. When I ask you to decorate your HMTL, I am asking that you include in-line comments. Comments remind you what your HTML code is supposed to accomplish. Comments allow others to more easily understand your HTML. Most importantly for our class, comments make it possible for George to grade your work. The grading rubric for most every assignment will require you to include in-line comments that document the graded item of the assignment. So, take note, that comments in HTML are coded differently than comments in CSS external style sheets.
</p>

<!-- a second Paragraph -->
<p>
HTML with in-line comments look like the sample HTML below. This is an example of how the above paragraph was styled. You can compare them, starting at the Horizontal Rule ...
</p>


Take note that comments in HTML are coded differently than comments in CSS external style sheets.

Comments in your HTML begin with <!-- and end with --> ... so ...
<!-- this would be a comment line in HTML -->

Comments in CSS external style sheets begin with /* and end with */ ... so ...
/* this would be a comment line in CSS external style sheet */

The comments you use to document your HTML and CSS will be unique to your work, and should not be copied from the above examples. No need to quote page numbers from the textbook, no need to state the obvious, i.e. <!-- Paragraph starts here --> or <!-- Big Font size -->

An appropriate CSS comment would be something on the order of this
/* Rubric Item # 6 : for 10 points, styles for the <body> section */
body { background-color: #030; margin: 6px; font-size: 100%; color: #000; }

An appropriate HTML comment would be something on the order of this
<!-- Rubric Item # 4 : for 3 points, coding a special character © (copy right) -->
&copy; 2018, George Joseph North, Jr.


Don't worry, by the end of our Semester, you will be a documentation expert.