The basic programming language for all Web pages is H-T-M-L, for hypertext markup language. This is a set of instructions that allow pages to be viewed over the Internet. You won't see the instructions on your screen, but the computer will, and then direct your screen to display them in a certain way. This is how you see words in bold, underlined, or italics. It will also have codes that tell the computer to display a certain image or link to another location on the web. Other websites will use C-G-I, or Common Gateway Interface, to display and send forms back to the sponsor of the site. It can also be used to create simple arcade games or have a certain message crawl across the screen. Still more sophisticated websites will use Shockwave or Flash to create truly dazzling interactive effects with sound and animation. Other tools for ever more elaborate web creation include V-R-M-L, or Virtual Reality Modeling Language, Active-X, and S-M-I-L, for Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language. If you want to see exactly how the instruction for the computer are written, any of the newer browsers will let you do it. From the top menu, choose 'View,' and then 'Source.' This will show you the code that the computer interprets when it creates the page you see on your screen.
c2004 Bluestreak Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
