HTML

tsoparno

hi all

I've just started looking at html writing as i'm hoping to enter creative multi media course in sep.would this be considered the starting point for web design or should i start with something else.
really am new to all this so any advice would be gratefully received pls.

LowOdour

really depends what the course is covering? If html is part of the course and you have no knowledge of it, its a good place to start. Plenty of tutorials online

tsoparno

cheers low i've just gone back over course details and it touches on html as well as java so i suppose my question really is has java outgrown html or will the later always be needed.you can probably tell i'm a complete starter with this stuff.just trying to get a head start with it.

LowOdour

well html and java are 2 seperate entities, so not a case of it outgrowing it. Is it java or javascript? Html is a markup language,used for web pages. Java is an oo programming language, which can be used for jsp,servlets etc on the web. So its no harm to look into both html and java

Mr. Loverman

HTML is the bare basics of web design.
After it you'd probably learn CSS.
Then maybe PHP or ASP.

You generally don't use Java for websites, although you might use it for 'backend' applications, such as the software which powers an online banking website.

tsoparno

thanks guys just going through free tutorials online and without wanting to sound nerdy i'm quite enjoying it that could change after a few wks:)

Razzuh

I'll try to summarise things a little for you.

There are two sides to the web that you need to know about:

1. Client side: This is the user's own computer. More specifically, this means the web browser (e.g firefox) that the person is using to look at web pages. The browser sends requests for data (i.e a URL address) to a server, and the server processes the request and sends back the appropriate content (i.e. a web page). The browser then interprets the received content data and displays it in a window. The data that is sent to a browser to be interpreted usually consists of three things:

• HTML: the foundation of the web. This contains information on basic page structure and the content (text, images etc...)
• CSS: A language for instructing the browser about how the page should look (what goes where, the colours to use, font sizes etc.).
• Javascript: A programming language that can be used to do all kinds of things. It makes web pages behave more like normal software that you install on your computer. Without going in to detail, it is used to make stuff happen when you click on things, or to play videos, make image slideshows etc...)

2. Server side: If the course you are doing is focused on web design, you probably won't be going in to much detail on what happens here. Aswell as your browser requesting data from a server, it also sends data to it (like when you fill in a form online). Software on the server can process this data and send back a web page based on the data you sent to it. Server side software is needed for example if you need to be able to save any information being provided by the user in a database so it can be used later (e.g. boards.ie software will save the text of this post I'm writing now so that next time you visit this thread it can show you what I wrote. It will also have to remember that it was me who wrote it and what time I wrote it at etc...).

There are lots of different programming languages that can be used for writing server-side software, like ASP, PHP and Java.

As already mentioned, you should note that Java and JavaScript are entirely unrelated, so don't confuse them!

In addition to the client side stuff I mentioned above, there are also common plugins that can be installed by users in their browser and used by web designers to extend what kind of content can appear on a web page. Java (as a Java Applet) fits in again here. This is the same Java that can be used for server side software, but not JavaScript! The Java plugin can be used for putting more interactive software on web pages, like games, advertisements and other similar things.
The other major plugin you've probably heard of is Adobe Flash. Flash is very common and flash content can be built in to web pages for showing videos, having animations, games etc...


I imagine what you need to focus on is the client side stuff. I suggest you go through tutorials online for HTML, CSS and JavaScript in that order. I'm pretty sure working with those will bring you up to September! w3schools.com is a handy site for reference and tutorials in case you haven't discovered it already.

I hope that's cleared things up a bit for you, or at least not confusssed you more!

Aodan83

W3Schools have some very good tutorials. They cover basic HTML, as well a s a few more complex things, like PHP or Javascript. It's very handy, you can work your way through it and it gives you examples to play around with.